32 killed in terror attack on busy beach in Somalia

An Al-Shabaab suicide bomber and gunmen attacked a busy beach in Somalia's capital Mogadishu, killing at least 32 people and wounding scores more in one of the deadliest attacks in months, police said on Aug 3.

- 

The Al-Qaeda-linked mailitants have been waging an insurgency against the internationally backed federal government for more than 17 years and had previously targeted the Lido beach area, popular with business people and officials.

Unverified videos shared online in the immediate aftermath of the attack showed people scattering along a street, with a number of clips purporting to show bloodied bodies lying on the beachfront.

"More than 32 civilians died in this attack and about 63 others were wounded, some of them critically," police spokesman Abdifa-tah Adan Hassan told reporters.

"Targeting and blasting to kill 32 members from the civilian population means these Kharijites are not going to target only government centres, soldiers and officials he said, using the term adopted by Somali officials to describe Al-Shabaab.