THE death toll from a car bombing at a cafe in Somalia’s capital Mogadishu that was packed with football fans watching the the Euro 2024 final has risen to nine, security sources said Monday.
Witnesses described scenes of panic and chaos after the powerful blast late Sunday, with people scrambling for safety and the main entrance to the cafe destroyed by the blaze.
Mohamed Yusuf, an official from the national security agency, said nine civilians were killed and 20 others wounded in the explosion, raising the official toll of five given by police late Sunday.
The popular Top Coffee restaurant, which is located near the presidential palace in the centre of the city, was thronged with young men watching the final that Spain won 2-1 against England.
“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.
No group has claimed responsibility for the bombing, but the state-run Somali National News Agency said Sunday it was carried out by Al-Qaeda linked Al-Shabaab jihadists.
Images posted online showed a huge fireball and plumes of smoke billowing into the night sky as the explosion ripped through the cafe.
“I was inside the restaurant watching the football match when I heard a huge explosion, there was smoke, dust and fire at the front side of the restaurant and we panicked,” Said Muktar told AFP.
“I and several other people rushed towards the main entrance, but it was completely inaccessible,” he said, adding that he saw people “bleeding and screaming”.
“The whole situation was chaos.”
Images of the aftermath of the bombing on Monday showed piles of rubble where the restaurant once stood and several burnt-out vehicles, as local residents inspected the scene.
Police officer Mohamed Salad told AFP he rushed to the site a few minutes after the blast.
