Tragedy hit Mogadishu late Sunday, July 15, after unknown assailants detonated a car bomb at a restaurant where football fans were watching the EURO 2024 final match between Spain and England, killing at least nine people, state media said, citing the local police force.
The attack happened at Top Coffee, located in the Somali capital’s Bondhere neighbourhood and near the presidential complex, multiple reports said.
There was no immediate claim of responsibility but government media blamed the blast on Al Shabaab, which has waged an insurgency against the government for close to two decades.
An unknown number of people were also injured, sources said.
Former president Sharif Sheikh Ahmad condemned the bombing, writing on Facebook that it was a “barbaric attack on young people”.
“This attack shows the hostility terrorist groups have towards our youth who are the future of the country and the businessmen who have invested in the country,” he added.
The AFP news agency put the death toll from the blast at nine, citing Somali security sources.
A Somali news website said “more than 10 people” died in the attack.
Mogadishu, located off the coast of the Indian Ocean, has suffered a number of similar attacks in the past.