Dubai: The UAE has condemned a terrorist attack in the Somali capital, Mogadishu, that killed 31 people and injured 40 others.
The foreign affairs ministry expressed the UAE’s solidarity with the government and people of Somalia.
Islamist extremists attacked a popular Pizza House restaurant in an overnight siege before they were slain by security forces, police said on Thursday.
Survivors described harrowing scenes of hiding under tables and behind curtains as the five gunmen hunted for victims in the darkened Pizza House restaurant.
The Al Qaida-linked Al Shabab group claimed responsibility for the attack, which began on Wednesday evening with a car bomb exploding at the gate to the restaurant and ended when troops secured the site after dawn, said senior police Captain Mohammad Hussein.
“I never thought I would have the chance to see the sun again. They were killing people on sight,” university student Saida Hussein told AP. She said she survived by hiding behind a large table.
