At least 17 people were killed when Al Shabaab gunmen struck a popular beachside restaurant in the Somali capital of Mogadishu late on Thursday, Somali police said.
Al Shabaab, a militant group aligned with al Qaeda, said its members set off two car bombs at the Beach View Cafe on Mogadishu's popular Lido beach, engaging in a gun battle for hours with government troops trying to flush them out.