Terrorism: Somalia: At least eleven dead in attack during European Championship final

During the broadcast of the European Championship final, a car bomb exploded in front of a café in the Somali capital Mogadishu. At least eleven people were killed and dozens of visitors to the busy bar were injured, according to a police spokesman. Panic broke out in the café. Among the fatalities were five people who were driving past the bar when the car parked outside exploded, it was reported.

A police spokesman told the German Press Agency that it was still unclear whether there was a suicide bomber in the vehicle and whether there were also armed attackers involved. Investigators fear that the number of dead and injured could rise further. The force of the explosion also caused severe damage to neighboring buildings.

The bar that was attacked is popular with government employees. So far, no group has claimed responsibility for the attack. But the method and the target bear the signature of the radical Islamic terrorist militia Al-Shabaab, which has been waging a bloody battle in the country on the Horn of Africa for years. Just on Saturday, a group of imprisoned Al-Shabaab members in Mogadishu tried to break out of the capital’s central prison. Six people died.

Al-Shabaab rejects football, but also music, as “haram” (unclean) and a few months ago attempted an attack on the stadium in Mogadishu during a football tournament there.

The fact that a sports final is the focus of an Islamist attack is nothing new: During the 2010 World Cup, Al-Shabaab detonated bombs in a bar in Kampala, Uganda, where several hundred people were watching the World Cup final. 74 people died.

The Somali government has been fighting the terrorist militia that controls parts of Somalia for years. In recent months, there have been repeated attacks in Mogadishu. In March, for example, terrorists attacked a hotel near the presidential palace and barricaded themselves there for hours.