A cafe brimming with footie fans glued to the Spain vs England game was rocked by a suicide bomb attack, according to reports.
The city of Mogadishu in Somalia, saw it's skyline marred by billowing smoke and leaping flames captured in social media clips that showed the scale of the devastating attack on Sunday evening. The target appears to be the newly minted "Top Coffee" joint, while local news outlets have reported the sound of gunfire at the hotspot.
Journalist Harun Maruf took to social media platform X to update fans on the worrying reports, claiming eyewitnesses clocked "multiple casualties" fleeing the scene.
His tweet read: "BREAKING: Multiple fatalities have been reported following a car bomb outside a tea and coffee shop in Mogadishu. Sources say some customers were watching the EURO2024 game between Spain and England when the explosion occurred."
The police have yet to issue an update, but local journalists are sharing details of a semi-wrecked building and multiple casualties reports the Express.
According to initial estimates around 10 people are thought to have been killed, with several more injured from the explosion, which is being attributed to the Al Shabaab, militant group.
Back in March, the extremist sect targeted a hotel in Mogadishu, sparking a 12-hour siege that was later ended by Somali security forces after they killed all five gunmen involved.
Three people were killed in the attack, with a further 27 left in a bad way, including three MPs.
Prior to this, Al Shabaab attacks had been on the decline, yet the group still maintains control over large swathes of southern and central Somalia. The group is linked to Al-Qaeda and has been waging a two-decade-long insurgency against the nation's government.
Just yesterday, there were reports of Al Shabaab members in Mogadishu Central Prison attempting a breakout and attacking guards.
This led to a lethal shootout that resulted in at least eight deaths - three soldiers and five prisoners - as per a spokesperson for the Somali army's custodial corps. Local media reported that terrorists serving life sentences in the prison initiated the attack.
