Somalia: Islamic jihadists murder 15 people at Mogadishu restaurant
A car bomb and suspected suicide bomber have killed at least 15 people in two explosions at a restaurant in the Somali capital, Mogadishu, local police said.
At least another 20 people were wounded in the bomb attacks on the Village restaurant, Captain Ali Hussein, a senior police official, said on Saturday.
No one has claimed responsibility for the blasts but suspicion will likely fall on the Islamist militant group al-Shabaab, an al-Qaida affiliate which has carried out a campaign of suicide bombings since African Union forces forced it to withdraw from the city in 2011.
Mohamed Yusuf, a spokesman for the Mogadishu authorities, said: "First a car bomb exploded at the entrance of the restaurant, and when people converged inside a suicide bomber blew up himself."
Isaq Hassan, a car washer who lost a colleague in the blasts, said: "This disaster never comes to an end." Pointing to dead bodies on the ground, he added: "See this, that and this! Life is worthless here."
The restaurant, which was popular with government officials, was owned by a Somali businessman, Ahmed Jama, who had returned to his home country from London to set up the business. Militants, also thought to be from al-Shabaab, had previously targeted the restaurant in November. Only one person was killed in that attack by suicide bombers.
"They attack the restaurants because they hate to see people peacefully spending time together," said Mohamed Abdi, an interior ministry employee at the scene. "They are committed to obliterating any sign of peace. Because of such attacks, it's very hard for the government to restore security in the near future."
In the biggest attack so far this year, in June al-Shabaab assaulted the main UN compound in Mogadishu, killing at least 22 people.
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