Somalian security forces have ended a night-long siege at a Mogadishu hotel by five extremist attackers who stormed the building after a suicide car bomber detonated an explosives-laden vehicle at the entrance gate on Saturday afternoon.
The attack killed at least 29 people.
Troops regained control of the Nasa-Hablod hotel yesterday morning, having killed three attackers and captured two alive, Somalian Captain Mohamed Hussein said.
Photo: AFP
Al-Shabaab, Africa’s deadliest Muslim extremist group, quickly claimed responsibility for the attack.
The assault started when a suicide truck bomb exploded outside the popular hotel in the capital. The blast twisted vehicles and caused massive damage to nearby buildings, which were left with only their walls standing.
The attackers invaded the hotel and gunfire continued as security forces fought them inside the building. Two more blasts were heard, one when an attacker detonated a suicide vest.
AP Photo/ Farah Abdi Warsameh
Somalian Minister of Electricity and Water Salim Aliyow Ibrow was rescued from the hotel as heavy gunfire continued in the shoot-out. Some extremists hurled grenades and cut off the building’s electricity as night fell.
Included in the dead were a mother and three children, including a baby, all shot in the head, Hussein said.
Other victims included a senior Somalian police colonel, a former lawmaker and a former government minister.
Saturday’s bomber had pretended his truck had broken down outside the gate, Somalian Police Colonel Mohamed Abdullahi said.
The bomber stopped outside the heavily fortified hotel and pretended to repair the truck before detonating it, he said.
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