Al-Shabab attackers fight their way into a popular hotel in central Mogadishu after ramming a car bomb into its gate.
At least 15 people have been killed and dozens wounded in a coordinated gun-and-bomb attack carried out by al-Shabab at a popular hotel in Somalia’s capital, Mogadishu, according to officials.
The assault on Wednesday morning began when attackers rammed an explosives-packed car into the gate of Dayah Hotel, which is near Somalia’s parliament in central Mogadishu, and then stormed inside exchanging gunfire with security guards.
A second massive car bomb blast went off after ambulances and journalists had arrived at the scene, leaving at least four reporters wounded, according to AFP news agency.
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“The preliminary casualty figure is 15 people dead including four security forces and 11 civilians,” Security Minister Abdirizak Umar told reporters at the scene.
“Fifty-one others were wounded in the two blasts at the hotel.”
Colonel Abdiqadir Hussein, a police officer, told Reuters that security forces eventually managed to secure the building.
“We have rescued the people and concluded the operation at Dayah Hotel.”
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| Somali government soldiers secure the scene after the attack at Dayah Hotel [Feisal Omar/Reuters] |
Witnesses said the powerful explosions caused extensive damage in the area near the hotel, shattering dozens of windows and damaging parked cars.
“All the neighbouring houses have been destroyed,” Yusuf Hassan, editor of Somali newspaper Haqiqa Times, told Al Jazeera from the scene.
“I see people crying because they have lost their relatives,” he added.
“It is really a big tragedy.”
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Al-Shabab claimed responsibility for the attack, according to a report by Andalus radio, which is linked to the armed group.
“Well-armed mujahideen [fighters] attacked the hotel and now they are fighting inside the hotel,” the report said.
Dozens of people, including members of Somalia’s parliament, were thought to have been in the hotel at the time of the attack, Captain Mohamed Hussein told The Associated Press news agency.
The hotel is popular with politicians, government officials and entrepreneurs.
Al-Shabab has carried out a series of deadly attacks in Somalia to try to topple the country’s western-backed government.
In June, the group claimed responsibility for an attack on the Nasa Hablod hotel, which killed at least 15 people.
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