The Somali militant group al-Shabab has claimed responsibility for a deadly attack on a hotel in Mogadishu Sunday, leaving at least 11 people dead, including the owner of the hotel, a military commander, two lawmakers and a journalist.
Somali Security Minister Abdirizak Omar Mohamed told VOA that five to six al-Shabab attackers using two vehicle bombs were involved in the attack on the Sahafi Hotel in Somalia’s capital. He said all the attackers were killed by security forces.
Authorities say the militants set off the car bombs early in the morning at the entrance to the building, followed by gunmen storming the hotel popular with government officials and business executives. Witnesses heard intense gunfire inside the hotel.
Police Major Ismail Nur told Reuters police “rescued many government officials” by placing a ladder at the hotel’s back wall. Nur said the police also received phone calls from hotel staff hiding in the building who said there were wounded people and government officials in the hotel.
African Union troops and Somali security forces eventually were able to take control of the hotel.
In recent months, al-Shabab has blown up another Mogadishu hotel, overrun three African Union peacekeepers’ bases in Somalia and detonated a bomb on the grounds of Somalia’s presidential palace.
The group controlled most of southern Somalia as recently as 2010, but was pushed into the countryside by African Union and Somali government forces. The militants carry out frequent attacks, often targeting government officials and African Union troops.
The al-Qaida-linked group seeks to impose a strict form of Islamic law on the country and has frequently beheaded, stoned to death or amputated the limbs of people accused of various crimes.
