Restaurants attacked

MOGADISHU: At least 12 people were killed and 30 others were injured yesterday when a suicide bomber and gunmen attacked two popular restaurants in the Somali capital of Mogadishu, police said.

A suicide car bomber blew himself up at the entrance to the Posh Treats restaurant, which is also a hotel, killing guards and civilians, Somali police officer Ali Hassan said.

The blast also partially hit a nearby restaurant, known as Pizza House. Security officials believe that attackers divided themselves into two groups, storming both establishments.

Hassan said some militants were still believed to be inside Pizza House. Authorities were finding it hard to free possible hostages, as suspects had cut off electricity, he explained.

Earlier, several people were rescued from the first restaurant, according to a Somali security member, Mohamed Hassan. Among them were foreign employees from Kenya and Ethiopia.

“The attackers stormed the Posh restaurant and began spraying bullets wildly,” said a shopkeeper near the area.

At least two militants were shot dead.

Somalia’s decade-long campaign against the al-Shabaab radicals has claimed thousands of lives. – ANA-DPA