Four people died and at least 10 were injured after attackers hurled a grenade on a cinema theatre in the Somali port town of Merka, police and witnesses said Monday.
“A hand grenade was hurled on a movie theatre inside the town, killing four people. More than ten others were wounded,” Merka police commissioner Hussein Gagale told AFP.
“We were watching an Indian movie when a huge explosion rocked the place. People started screaming, I saw at least three dead and I was very lucky to escape,” said Salah Ahmed Abdallah, a witness.
“I heard that another person died of his injuries later in hospital.”
Merka is a key Somali port, located about 100 kilometres (60 miles) south of the capital Mogadishu.
There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the late Sunday attack but some local residents said Islamist insurgents had issued warnings that the cinema should be closed down.
“I was told that the Islamic insurgents gave a phone call warning the owner to close the cinema a week ago, but I’m not sure if they are behind the grenade attack,” said Husein Bulaale, who owns a grocery near the targeted cinema hall.
Islamist insurgents have carried out a string of attacks recently across the Horn of Africa country.
The Islamic Courts Union took over Mogadishu and large swathes of the country from US-backed warlords in 2006, briefly imposing a strict form of Sharia law, banning music and cinemas.
They were ousted last year by Ethiopian-backed Somali government troops but its remnants have since waged a deadly guerrilla war.
Source: AFP
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