Somalia's President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud held an emergency meeting on Saturday with heads of security agencies following the terror attack in the capital, Mogadishu.
The president together with the Prime Minister Hamsa Abdi Barre convened the security meeting a day after a massive bomb-and-gun attack on a busy beach that left dozens of people dead.
The meeting drew up plans to strengthen the capital's security against attacks by the Al-Qaeda linked Al-Shabaab terrorist group, according to the president's office.
"The government is committed to eradicating this group from the whole country," the president's office said in a statement.
"The terrorist attack on Lido beach shows the brutality of the Khawarij and their aim to kill the Somali people everywhere," it added. Khawarij is a term officials use to describe Al-Shabaab.
Gun and bomb attack
The attack on Friday night saw a suicide bomber detonate an explosive device along the popular Lido Beach before gunmen stormed the area and opened fire, witnesses and officials said.
At least 32 people were killed and more than 60 others wounded. Al-Shabaab has said it carried out the attack.
"Let us Unite for their elimination, and support the National Army and report those who are hiding among you," the president's office said,
The attack was the deadliest in the Horn of Africa country since twin car bombs detonated near a busy market intersection in October 2022, killing at least 100 people and wounding 300 others.
➤ Click here to follow our WhatsApp channel for more stories.
