At least 13 civilians have been killed and dozens wounded in an Islamist militant attack on a hotel in the Somalian capital, officials said yesterday, as security forces battled gunmen barricaded inside many hours after the siege began.
Fighters from al-Shabaab stormed the Hayat Hotel in Mogadishu on Friday evening in a hail of gunfire and bomb blasts.
Scores of people were trapped inside, but officials said many, including children, have since been rescued. Sporadic gunfire and loud explosions could be heard yesterday afternoon, but details remained difficult to verify in the chaos.
Photo: AFP
It is the biggest attack in Mogadishu since Somalian President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud was elected in May after many months of political instability.
Al-Shabaab, which has been waging a deadly insurgency for 15 years against the fragile government in the Horn of Africa nation, has claimed responsibility.
“We are getting information about five more victims confirmed dead and that makes 13 the overall number of civilians killed by the terrorists,” security commander Mohamed Abdikadir said. “The security forces rescued dozens of civilians, including children, who were trapped in the building.”
Police officer Ibrahim Duale confirmed that more than 10 people had been killed, but said updated information would be released once the siege had ended.
“The security forces will announce any moment that the siege is over, it took a long time because of the complexity of the rescue mission,” Duale said.
The director of Mogadishu’s main trauma hospital, Mohamed Abdirahman Jama, said the facility was treating at least 40 people wounded in the hotel attack and a separate mortar strike on another area of the capital.
Dozens of people gathered outside the four-story hotel to discover the fate of loved ones.
“We have been looking for a relative of mine who was trapped inside the hotel, she was confirmed dead together with six other people, two of them I know,” Muudey Ali said.
In another incident, a volley of mortar shells hit the seafront neighborhood of Hamar Jajab, district commissioner Mucawiye Muddey said.
“Among those critically wounded are a newlywed bride and her groom and a family of three children, a mother and their father,” he said.
There was no immediate claim for that attack. Witnesses had on Friday reported at least two powerful explosions as gunmen stormed the hotel, a popular spot for government officials in a bustling area on the airport road.
Police spokesman Abdifatah Adan Hassan had told reporters on Friday the initial blast was caused by a suicide bomber who forced his way into the hotel with other gunmen.
Witnesses said a second blast occurred just a few minutes later as rescuers, security forces and civilians rushed to the scene.
UKRAINE, NVIDIA: The US leader said the subject of Russia’s war had come up ‘very strongly,’ while Jenson Huang was hoping that the conversation was good Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) and US President Donald Trump had differing takes following their meeting in Busan, South Korea, yesterday. Xi said that the two sides should complete follow-up work as soon as possible to deliver tangible results that would provide “peace of mind” to China, the US and the rest of the world, while Trump hailed the “great success” of the talks. The two discussed trade, including a deal to reduce tariffs slapped on China for its role in the fentanyl trade, as well as cooperation in ending the war in Ukraine, among other issues, but they did not mention
Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi yesterday lavished US President Donald Trump with praise and vows of a “golden age” of ties on his visit to Tokyo, before inking a deal with Washington aimed at securing critical minerals. Takaichi — Japan’s first female prime minister — pulled out all the stops for Trump in her opening test on the international stage and even announced that she would nominate him for a Nobel Peace Prize, the White House said. Trump has become increasingly focused on the Nobel since his return to power in January and claims to have ended several conflicts around the world,
REASSURANCE: The US said Taiwan’s interests would not be harmed during the talk and that it remains steadfast in its support for the nation, the foreign minister said US President Donald Trump on Friday said he would bring up Taiwan with Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) during a meeting on the sidelines of the APEC Summit in South Korea this week. “I will be talking about Taiwan [with Xi],” Trump told reporters before he departed for his trip to Asia, adding that he had “a lot of respect for Taiwan.” “We have a lot to talk about with President Xi, and he has a lot to talk about with us. I think we’ll have a good meeting,” Trump said. Taiwan has long been a contentious issue between the US and China.
GLOBAL PROJECT: Underseas cables ‘are the nervous system of democratic connectivity,’ which is under stress, Member of the European Parliament Rihards Kols said The government yesterday launched an initiative to promote global cooperation on improved security of undersea cables, following reported disruptions of such cables near Taiwan and around the world. The Management Initiative on International Undersea Cables aims to “bring together stakeholders, align standards, promote best practices and turn shared concerns into beneficial cooperation,” Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) said at a seminar in Taipei. The project would be known as “RISK,” an acronym for risk mitigation, information sharing, systemic reform and knowledge building, he said at the seminar, titled “Taiwan-Europe Subsea Cable Security Cooperation Forum.” Taiwan sits at a vital junction on
RSS