Somali survivors tell of restaurant siege by rebels; 31 dead

MOGADISHU, Somalia (AP) — Islamic extremists attacked a popular Somalia restaurant in an overnight siege and killed 31 people – many at point-blank range – before they were slain by security forces, police said today.

Survivors described harrowing scenes of hiding under tables and behind curtains as the five gunmen hunted for victims in the darkened Pizza House restaurant. Nearly 40 people were wounded.

Al-Shabab claimed responsibility for the attack, which began Wednesday evening with a car bomb exploding at the gate to the restaurant and ended when troops secured the site after dawn, said senior police Capt. Mohamed Hussein.

"I never thought I would have the chance to see the sun again. They were killing people on sight," university student Saida Hussein told The Associated Press. She said she survived by hiding behind a large table.

Soldiers in gun-mounted vehicles surrounded the building, and troops later entered the ground floor as al-Shabab snipers defended their positions upstairs. The battle to end the siege was hampered by darkness, Hussein said.

Aden Karie said he was wounded by an attacker who spotted him moving behind a curtain.

"He shot at me twice, and one bullet struck me on the leg," Karie said as he was taken to an ambulance.

The bodies of five girls believed to have been killed by the extremists were found in the restaurant, police said. The body of a Syrian man who worked as a chef lay near a blood-spattered and bullet-marked wall.