Somalia Mogadishu: Gunmen attack Lido beach zone
Popular beachfront restaurants have been hit by car bombs and gunmen in the Somali capital Mogadishu.
The first car bomb went off in the early evening, followed soon after by as many as five gunmen approaching from the beach. A second car bomb went off half an hour later, BBC Somali reports.
There is no information on casualties.
No group has said it carried out the attack but suspicion has fallen on al-Shabab which carried out similar bombings in the past.
The Somali Prime Minister, Omar Abdirashid Ali Sharmarke, condemned the attack as "barbaric".
Few details are yet known about the latest incident which is reported to be ongoing.
The first car bomb went off at around 19:30 local time (16:30 GMT), at the same time as gunmen stormed the area.
The Beach View and Lido Sea Food restaurants were hit, Abdirahman Koronto from the BBC's Somali service reports.
A police officer at the scene told Reuters news agency the gunmen were "still inside" one of the restaurants. "We cannot know the number of casualties inside," Major Farah Abdulle said.
Lido Beach, on the northern edge of Mogadishu, attracts thousands of mostly young Somalis looking to relax and enjoy the beach and the surf.
Several restaurants have opened up along the beach front in recent years, and people would have been sitting out in front of them when the attacks began.
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