Mogadishu beachfront attacks leave 20 dead

Extremist militants have killed some 20 people in an attack on popular beachfront restaurants in the Somali capital Mogadishu, the security ministry has reported.

According to reports, two car bombs exploded about an hour apart early on Thursday evening, with gunmen firing on diners at the restaurants in between. The ministry said that a siege lasting some eight hours followed the attacks.

Jihadi militant group Al-Shabab, which has carried out a number of attacks on the capital,  has claimed the attack which Somali Prime Minister, Omar Abdirashid Ali Sharmarke, condemned as "barbaric".

The Associated Press reported a witness saying that the attackers "randomly fired at the people sitting near the beach before entering the restaurant.”

According to reports, the Somali authorities have arrested the suspected leader of the attack, but it is not yet clear whether the death toll includes any of the attackers themselves.