In one of the bloodiest attacks in months, an Al Shabaab suicide bomber and gunmen stormed a crowded beach in the capital city of Somalia, Mogadishu, killing at least 32 and wounding 63, according to police on Saturday.

The Lido Beach region, which is well-liked by politicians and businesspeople, has been the target of Al-Qaeda-affiliated terrorists who have been fighting the federal government for more than 17 years.

People were seen lying across a street in unconfirmed videos that were circulated online shortly after the incident. Some of the clips claimed to show bloodied bodies lying on the beach.

During a press conference, police spokesman Abdifatah Adan Hassan told reporters, "More than 32 civilians died in this attack and about 63 others were wounded, some of them critically," adding, "Targeting and blasting to kill 32 members from the civilian population means these Kharijites are not going to target only government centres, soldiers and officials."

According to witnesses and police, the attack started late on Friday when a suicide bomber detonated a device and gunmen invaded the neighborhood. Al Shabaab claimed responsibility for the attack in a post on a website supporting the group.

Many young Somalis died in a heavy explosion that took place in Mogadishu Lido beach.

There are a Shocking and horrific scenes in Mogadisho’s Liido beach. I have received very graphic images of the bodies of innocent civilians scattered on the ground. pic.twitter.com/ln6ln0HmnN

— Mohamed Yusuf Bakayle (@MoBakayle) August 2, 2024

According to Officer Mohamed Omar, they "randomly shot civilians."

He stated that five shooters had been killed by security personnel and that a sixth gunman "blew himself (up) at the beach" to put an end to the assault.

Witnesses described how shooters swarmed the popular site after the blast, saying that many people were present.

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Witness Abdilatif Ali said to AFP, "Everybody was panicked and it was hard to know what was happening because shooting started soon after the blast," noting that people either fled or took cover. 

"I saw many people strewn (on the ground) and some of them were dead and others wounded," he added.

"I saw wounded people at the beachside. People were screaming in panic and it was hard to notice who was dead and who was still alive," Ahmed Yare told AFP.

Previous attacks on the Lido area included a six-hour Al Shabaab siege on a hotel beside the beach in 2023, which resulted in the death of six civilians and the injury of ten.

A devastating car bomb explosion at a cafe in the capital last month claimed the lives of five individuals.

In March, the militants broke a truce in the war when they besieged a second hotel in Mogadishu for several hours, leaving three people dead and 27 injured.