Blasts kill two at Mogadishu beach

Twin explosions have rocked a restaurant near the Lido resort beach in Mogadishu, Friday killing two people including the suicide bomber and wounding seven others.

Reuters/Feisal Omar

According to witnesses, the first attack was by a suicide bomber wearing a vest packed with explosives that blew up inside the restaurant but only killing the perpetrator.

The second explosion was a car packed full of explosives which killed one person and wounded seven others and destroyed the perimeter walls.

Ahmed Hassan, who was at the restaurant, says that the situation turned quickly to chaos after huge explosion with smoke and dust filling the whole restaurant.

The attack is the second in the area in less than three weeks.

The restaurants along the Liido beach are usually crowded on Muslim weekends with families enjoying the beach, playing football or swimming .

No group immediately claimed responsibility for the blast but such attacks are typically carried out by the al-Qaida-linked group al-Shebab, which was forced out of Mogadishu in late 2011 but still carries out roadside bombings and suicide attacks.

It shows the daunting task ahead for the government here to curb the insurgents.

Since Al-Shebab fighters made a tactical retreat from Mogadishu and parts of south and central Somalia in 2011, the city has been targeted in a number of attacks, including bomb blasts, suicide bombs and assassinations.

Security analysts believe that Al-Shebab has planted sleeper cells across the war-torn capital.