Gunmen Set Off Bombs, Storm Popular Somali Beach
At least five gunmen stormed the beach after a car bomb went off at a popular restaurant.
In this photo taken Friday, March 30, 2012, Somalis swim at the Lido beach in Mogadishu, Somalia.
Farah Abdi Warsameh / AP
Gunmen opened fire at a Somali beach after a suicide car bomber broke through the gates of a restaurant on Thursday afternoon, officials said.
No information on casualties was immediately available.
The BBC reported that after the car bomb exploded at about 4:30 p.m., up to five gunmen approached from a different direction and open fire on the popular Lido beach area.
A second car bomb was reported about an hour after the first vehicle rammed the gates of the restaurant, Lido Seafood.
Capt. Mohamed Hussein told the Associated Press he believed the attackers took hostages inside the restaurant, which is popular with the city's elite and government officials.
No one immediately took credit for the attack, but it had all the hallmarks of an al Shabaab operation.