ALBAWABA - Nine people have been killed in a car bomb attack, as football fans were packing the facility to watch Euro 2024 final.
Al-Shabab fighters have claimed responsibility for Sunday's fatal strike through a linked radio station, claiming that the blast targeted a location where security and government staff congregate at night.
Mohamed Yusuf, a national security agency spokesman, stated nine people were killed and 20 others were injured in the blast, boosting the official death toll from five provided by police late Sunday.
"There were many people inside the restaurant, most of them youth who were watching the football match... but thanks to God, most of them made their way out safely after using ladders to climb up and jump over the backside perimeter wall," Yusuf said.
Online photos showed a massive fireball and smoke plumes rising into the night sky as the explosion tore through the well-known cafe in the city center on Sunday.
Mohamed Salad, a police officer, told AFP that he raced to the scene shortly after the explosion. "Five people died outside the building and on the main road including drivers of vehicles that were passing by the area," he said.
"Four people died inside the restaurant, some of them removed from under the debris," Salad added.
