Security forces in the Somalian capital yesterday fought for several hours before clearing a hotel of al-Shabaab militants who had stormed the building after two bombs ripped into it, police and witnesses said. At least 13 people were killed.
Al-Shabaab, which has frequently launched attacks in Mogadishu in its bid to topple the Western-backed government, said it was behind the assault on the Sahafi Hotel, where government officials and lawmakers stay.
“Mujahidin entered and took over Sahafi Hotel where enemies lived,” al-Shabaab military operations spokesman Sheikh Abdiasis Abu Musab told reporters.
Photo: Reuters
The incident mirrored tactics used before by al-Shabaab, in which it detonates bombs to break through security at targets and then sends in fighters.
The government is battling to rebuild the Horn of Africa nation after more than two decades of conflict. Al-Shabaab ruled much of Somalia until 2011, when it was driven out of Mogadishu by African Union Mission to Somalia (AMISOM) and Somalian troops. It remains a potent force.
Police officer Major Ahmed Nur told reporters that a car bomb rammed the entrance to the hotel and was followed by a second blast, which a security guard said was another vehicle bomb.
After a firefight lasting several hours, Nur said the hotel had been cleared of gunmen.
“The hotel has been entirely secured,” Nur said, putting the death toll so far at 13.
Police said those killed included the hotel’s owner, a lawmaker, a former senior military commander, a radio journalist and other civilians.
“We have also rescued many government officials by a ladder through the back wall,” said Major Ismail Nur, another police officer, after the assault that was launched at about dawn.
One police officer said fighters had fired on them from the rooftop.
AMISOM, leading a campaign with Somalian troops against al-Shabaab, also helped to clear the hotel.
An AMISOM spokesman had earlier said they were “mopping [up] floor by floor” in the four-story building.
The hotel is near a busy area in Mogadishu known as K-4. Plumes of smoke rose above the capital on the Indian Ocean coast.
“We got phone calls from staff hiding in hotel rooms saying that there are several injured people in the hotel,” Ismail Nur said as fighting still raged.
A witness saw wrecked cars and motorbikes in the area, as well as two dead civilians lying outside. At least three others were injured.
FREEDOM OF NAVIGATION: The UK would continue to reinforce ties with Taiwan ‘in a wide range of areas’ as a part of a ‘strong unofficial relationship,’ a paper said The UK plans to conduct more freedom of navigation operations in the Taiwan Strait and the South China Sea, British Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs David Lammy told the British House of Commons on Tuesday. British Member of Parliament Desmond Swayne said that the Royal Navy’s HMS Spey had passed through the Taiwan Strait “in pursuit of vital international freedom of navigation in the South China Sea.” Swayne asked Lammy whether he agreed that it was “proper and lawful” to do so, and if the UK would continue to carry out similar operations. Lammy replied “yes” to both questions. The
Two US House of Representatives committees yesterday condemned China’s attempt to orchestrate a crash involving Vice President Hsiao Bi-khim’s (蕭美琴) car when she visited the Czech Republic last year as vice president-elect. Czech local media in March last year reported that a Chinese diplomat had run a red light while following Hsiao’s car from the airport, and Czech intelligence last week told local media that Chinese diplomats and agents had also planned to stage a demonstrative car collision. Hsiao on Saturday shared a Reuters news report on the incident through her account on social media platform X and wrote: “I
SHIFT PRIORITIES: The US should first help Taiwan respond to actions China is already taking, instead of focusing too heavily on deterring a large-scale invasion, an expert said US Air Force leaders on Thursday voiced concerns about the Chinese People’s Liberation Army’s (PLA) missile capabilities and its development of a “kill web,” and said that the US Department of Defense’s budget request for next year prioritizes bolstering defenses in the Indo-Pacific region due to the increasing threat posed by China. US experts said that a full-scale Chinese invasion of Taiwan is risky and unlikely, with Beijing more likely to pursue coercive tactics such as political warfare or blockades to achieve its goals. Senior air force and US Space Force leaders, including US Secretary of the Air Force Troy Meink and
Czech officials have confirmed that Chinese agents surveilled Vice President Hsiao Bi-khim (蕭美琴) during her visit to Prague in March 2024 and planned a collision with her car as part of an “unprecedented” provocation by Beijing in Europe. Czech Military Intelligence learned that their Chinese counterparts attempted to create conditions to carry out a demonstrative incident involving Hsiao, which “did not go beyond the preparation stage,” agency director Petr Bartovsky told Czech Radio in a report yesterday. In addition, a Chinese diplomat ran a red light to maintain surveillance of the Taiwanese
RSS