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.
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