At least five people killed in bomb attack on busy cafe in Somalia’s capital, police said

MOGADISHU, Somalia – At least five people were killed in a bomb attack outside a cafe in the Somali capital Mogadishu on Sunday, police said.

Some people were watching the European soccer final between Spain and England on a screen in the cafe when a car loaded with explosives exploded outside, said Maj. Abdifitah Aden Hassa, spokesman for the Somali police. He told reporters that at least 20 other people were injured in the attack.

Pictures posted online, purporting to be from the scene, show a fire burning outside the cafe after the explosion.

“Some of the spectators were injured when they tried to jump over the cafe’s perimeter wall and others were wounded in a stampede,” witness Ismail Adan said by phone.

Most of the victims were on the street at the time of the explosion, he said.

It was not immediately clear who was responsible for the attack.

Attacks by the militant Islamic group al-Shabab are frequently reported in Mogadishu and other parts of Somalia. The group is opposed to the Somali government, which relies on the support of foreign troops to maintain its power.

But Mogadishu has been largely peaceful in recent months.

That calm was interrupted on Saturday by an attempted escape from a prison in Mogadishu. In that attack, which left at least eight people dead, prisoners convicted of involvement in al-Shabab attacks exchanged fire with prison guards before being killed.

The Somali government is currently conducting a spectacular offensive against the extremist group, which the US describes as one of al-Qaeda’s deadliest organizations.

Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud has declared “total war” on the extremists who control large parts of central and southern Somalia and have been the target of numerous US air strikes in recent years.