MOGADISHU, June 15 (Xinhua) -- At least six Al-Shabaab militants were killed in a massive car bomb attack at a popular restaurant in Somali capital Mogadishu Wednesday night.
Government security ministry spokesman Ahmed Mohamed Mohamud said two Kenyans and three Ethiopians were rescued while a Syrian working at the ill-fated Pizza Restaurant was killed in the explosion.
Mohamud said the Somali special security forces killed six Al-Shabaab militants. "One of the militants carried out the suicide while five others were killed during the operation," he said.
The night-long siege began when the insurgents rammed a car loaded with explosives into the main entrance of the popular restaurant before storming inside.
The police and witnesses said the gunmen then started firing at the customers who were taking evening meals (iftar), breaking the fast at sunset during the holy month of Ramadan.
The restaurant bombing is the first suicide attack in Mogadishu during Ramadan as the insurgents often target hotels and restaurants including Africa Union bases in the city as part of campaign to topple the Western-backed government.
