Thirty-seven people were killed and more were feared dead in an attack on a beach in Somalia's capital Mogadishu on Friday night, authorities have said.
Security forces said they had killed five of the militants who were shooting at revellers at Lido beach, while another detonated a suicide bomb.
More than 150 people were injured and as Somalia dealt with the aftermath of the atrocity, President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud said on X that he would hold an emergency meeting with Prime Minister Hamza Abdi Barre and "key security officials to address the situation".
The UN and African Union condemned the attack, which was also "strongly condemned" by the UAE's Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Saudi Arabia.
The explosion took place at a hotel on the beach, former prime minister Hassan Ali Khaire posted on social media.
“I send my deepest condolences to the families, relatives and friends of those who were martyred in these explosions.
“The fact that the terrorist attack coincides with this night when the beach is the most congested shows the hostility of the terrorists to the Somali people.”
The attack has been claimed by Al Shabab, a Somalia-based group affiliated with Al Qaeda.
Lido Beach in Mogadishu is typically bustling on Friday nights as Somalis enjoy their weekend.
Videos posted on social media showed bodies lying on the beach in the dark, and people running to safety.
Security forces went to the scene, authorities and witnesses said, and state-owned Somali National News Agency said they “neutralised the attackers”.
“We were chatting and relaxing on the beach when suddenly a huge explosion went off, followed by heavy gunfire inside the nearby Beach View hotel,” Ali Hassan told The National.
“We ducked and ran away. I saw dead bodies and others injured but I cannot remember exactly how many. I only learnt later that it was a suicide bomber who blew himself up, it was so scary. I am still shocked."
Mohamud Moalim told AP that he saw an attacker wearing an explosive vest moments before he “blew himself up next to the beach-view hotel”.
Mr Moalim said some of his friends at the hotel were killed and others were wounded.
Another witness, Abdisalam Adam, told AP that he “saw many people lying on the ground” and had helped take some of the injured to the hospital.
Hospitals in Mogadishu called for blood donations for the injured.
“We urgently need blood group B+. Our emergency department is offering free treatment to the injured we are receiving tonight,” Kalkaal Hospital announced on its Facebook page.
The Lido Beach area has in the past been attacked by militants allied to Al Shabab.
The most recent attack last year resulted in the deaths of nine people.
Al Shabab has been fighting an insurgency against the Somali government since 2006 and controls areas of southern and central Somalia.
The group remains capable of carrying out large-scale attacks, despite years of pressure from the government backed by the African Union and other international allies.
Mr Mohamud declared a “total war” on the group after he was re-elected in 2022.
Last month, the army claimed to have killed more than 100 militants from the group in an operation in the Jubaland region.
Local security sources said 135 fighters were killed and 80 wounded, making it one of the heaviest losses for the group. Al Shabab claimed to have killed 71 soldiers, which the government denied.
The group has continued attacks on the capital in recent years and is believed by US intelligence to be in talks towards co-operation with the Houthi rebels in Yemen.
Al Shabab has also carried out attacks outside of Somalia. In 2013, militants killed 67 people in an attack on a shopping centre in Nairobi. Two years later, they killed 148 people in an attack on a university in Garissa in eastern Kenya.
Al Shabab has also reportedly struck a deal with pirates based in Somalia, providing them protection in exchange for a cut of ransoms received.
Somalia has the longest coastline in Africa, extending for more than 3,000km, and is strategically located on the Horn of Africa, close to major shipping routes.
Hassan Mohamed contributed to this report.
