Several people have been killed after a car bomb exploded outside a popular cafe packed with football fans in the Somali capital Mogadishu.
The bomb exploded on Sunday evening at 10:28 p.m. local time, while guests of Top Coffee were watching the 2024 European Championship final between Spain and England.
Police said at least five people were killed and 20 injured in the blast. Security sources later told AFP the death toll had risen to nine.
The jihadist group al-Shabaab says it carried out the attack.
The restaurant was full and some were sitting outside on the sidewalk when the bomb exploded. Witnesses said people had to run for safety.
“We heard a loud, terrifying explosion during the first half of the match we were watching. Everyone had to figure out how to save themselves,” one of the survivors, Mohamed Muse, told the BBC.
“I saw people in danger, injured people screaming for help and others in confusion. It was terrifying,” he added.
The explosion also destroyed several cars and damaged several buildings.
Al-Shabaab, part of the al-Qaeda group, reportedly said it attacked a place where security and government officials meet at night.
The area is close to Villa Somalia, the official presidential residence.
The jihadist group has carried out numerous bombings in the city and other parts of Somalia over the past 17 years.
However, in recent months there has been a lull in the ongoing offensive by Somali security forces against the group, which still controls large parts of the country.
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