Hiiraan Online
Wednesday June 14, 2017
A fire breaks out at Pizza House restaurant after gunmen detonated a car bomb and stormed the restuarant. Credit: @AbdulBillowAli via Twitter
Mogadishu (HOL) - Gunmen stormed a popular Mogadishu eatery on Wednesday after detonating a car bomb, according to local residents and witnesses.
The loud explosion was heard during evening prayers in the capital. Witnesses say gunmen used a car bomb to force their way into Pizza House and gunfire was heard immediately after the explosion
A security official told HOL that the ‘operation is ongoing’ at the Pizza House, but that the Posh Treats was damaged by the car bomb.
Initial reports indicate that as many as 10 people may have been killed in the attack, but this claim cannot yet be independently verified
Immediately after the attack,social media was flooded with conflicting reports as to the target of the attack. Many suggested that Posh Treats, a popular restaurant and shisha (hookah) cafe that is directly opposite and only steps away was the target.
CGTN Correspondent Abdulaziz Billow Ali, tweeted an image of a large fire from what appears to be the Pizza House restaurant.
Although there is no immediate claim of responsibility, the attack bears all the hallmarks of Al-Shabaab, a militant insurgency group that has vowed to fight the internationally backed Federal government.