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Al Shabab claims attack on beach restaurant near Turkish embassy in Somalia

Somalia

Al Shabab militants have claimed a bomb attack on a beach restaurant in the Somali capital Mogadishu on Thursday evening.

According to police sources, a car bomb exploded first at Banadir restaurant at Lido beach following which there was a fierce exchange of gunfire with security guards and government forces.

Al Qaeda-linked al Shabab claimed responsibility for the attack. ‘‘We attacked the Banadir beach restaurant and now our fighters are fighting inside it,’‘ al-Shabab’s military operation spokesperson said.

BREAKING: Banadir Beach Club/Restaurant, near #Turkish embassy in #Mogadishu, under attack – Witness. #Somalia

— Live From Mogadishu (@Daudoo) August 25, 2016

The attacked facility according to local news sources is near the new Turkish embassy that was opened by president Erdogan few months back.

‘‘A car bomb exploded at Banadir restaurant at Lido beach and there is exchange of gunfire,’‘ a police officer told Reuters.

Earlier, 11 people were wounded including the district commissioner in a separate blast in a market area in the southern Somali town of Bardhere. Somalia was plunged into anarchy in the early 1990s following the toppling of military dictator Mohamed Siad Barre.