Several Dead After Suicide Bomber Attacks Restaurant in Somalia Capital

FILE: Somali security forces at the scene of a car bomb explosion at a checkpoint in Mogadishu on December 28, 2019. (Reuters)
FILE: Somali security forces at the scene of a car bomb explosion at a checkpoint in Mogadishu on December 28, 2019. (Reuters)
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Several Dead After Suicide Bomber Attacks Restaurant in Somalia Capital

FILE: Somali security forces at the scene of a car bomb explosion at a checkpoint in Mogadishu on December 28, 2019. (Reuters)
FILE: Somali security forces at the scene of a car bomb explosion at a checkpoint in Mogadishu on December 28, 2019. (Reuters)

Two people died on Tuesday in Somalia's capital Mogadishu after a suicide bomber blew himself up in a restaurant near a police base, a police spokesman and a witness said.

"A blast occurred at a restaurant near School Policio (police base), we shall give details later," police spokesman Sadik Ali told Reuters.

It was still unclear who was behind the attack.

A nearby shopkeeper Mohamed Ali said at least two people were dead from the blast.

Last week, at least six people were killed and 20 got injured in a suicide bombing outside a mosque in the Somalian port city of Kismayo.

Al-Shabab claimed responsibility for that attack. The armed group, which has ties to al-Qaeda terror group, regularly launches attacks on government officials, journalists and prominent businessmen, as well as civilians, in the country.



Trump's Syria Announcement Surprised his Own Sanctions Officials

Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa meets with US President Donald Trump and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, in this handout released on May 14, 2025. Saudi Press Agency/Handout via REUTERS
Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa meets with US President Donald Trump and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, in this handout released on May 14, 2025. Saudi Press Agency/Handout via REUTERS
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Trump's Syria Announcement Surprised his Own Sanctions Officials

Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa meets with US President Donald Trump and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, in this handout released on May 14, 2025. Saudi Press Agency/Handout via REUTERS
Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa meets with US President Donald Trump and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, in this handout released on May 14, 2025. Saudi Press Agency/Handout via REUTERS

When President Donald Trump announced in Saudi Arabia on Tuesday that he would lift all sanctions on Syria, the decision took many in the region by surprise.

It also caught some in his own administration off guard.

In Washington, senior officials at the State Department and Treasury Department scrambled to understand how to cancel the sanctions, many of which have been in place for decades, according to four US officials familiar with the matter.

The White House had issued no memorandum or directive to State or Treasury sanctions officials to prepare for the unwinding and didn’t alert them that the president’s announcement was imminent, one senior US official told Reuters.

After the announcement, officials were confused about exactly how the administration would unwind the layers of sanctions, which ones were being eased and when the White House wanted to begin the process.

By the time Trump met interim Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa in Saudi Arabia on Wednesday, officials at State and Treasury were still unsure how to proceed, the senior official said.

“Everyone is trying to figure out how to implement it,” said one US official in reference to the president’s announcement.