Five Killed In Somalia Hotel Attack

At least five people were killed in a gun and bomb
attack by suspected Al-Shabaab fighters on an upscale beachfront
hotel in Somalia’s capital on Sunday, officials and witnesses
said.

Security forces were struggling to regain control of the Elite
Hotel in the Lido beach area more than an hour after the assault
began, and the assailants appeared to have taken hostages,
government security official Ahmed Omar told AFP.

“There is still sporadic gunfire and the initial information we
have received indicates five people died and more than 10 others
were wounded,” he said.

“The death toll can increase because the blast was massive and
there is a hostage situation involved.”

Aamin Ambulance, a Mogadishu-based private service, reported
that at least 28 people were wounded.

– ‘Chaos and people fleeing’ –

Witnesses confirmed that the attack began with a heavy explosion
and reported that people were running from the area as gunfire
could be heard from the hotel, which is frequented by government
officials.

“The blast was very heavy and I could see smoke in the area.
There is chaos and people are fleeing from nearby buildings,” said
witness Ali Sayid Adan.

The dead included at least one government official: Abdirasak
Abdi, who worked at the information ministry, said his colleague
Hussein Ali.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attack,
but it was similar to others carried out by the Al-Shabaab jihadist
group, which is affiliated to Al-Qaeda.

Somalia plunged into chaos after the 1991 overthrow of
then-President Siad Barre’s military regime, leading to years of
clan warfare followed by the rise of Al-Shabaab which once
controlled large parts of the country and Mogadishu.

Al-Shabaab was driven out of the capital in 2011, but its
militants continue to wage war against the government, carrying out
regular attacks.

Last week four Shabaab fighters held in Mogadishu’s central
prison were killed in an intense shootout with security forces
after they somehow managed to get their hands on weapons within the
facility.

AFP

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