An attack by Islamist militants on a hotel in the Somali capital has killed at least 13 civilians and injured dozens, officials said on Saturday, as security forces fought gunmen who had been barricaded many hours after the siege began.
Fighters from al-Qaeda-affiliated Al-Shabaab stormed the Hayat Hotel in Mogadishu on Friday night in a hail of gunfire and bombings.
Dozens of people were trapped inside, but officials said many, including children, have since been rescued.
Sporadic gunfire and loud explosions could be heard until Saturday afternoon, but details remain difficult to verify in the chaos.
It is the largest attack in Mogadishu since Somalia’s new president, Hassan Sheikh Mohamud, was elected in May after many months of political instability.
Al-Shabaab, which has waged a deadly insurgency against the fragile government in the Horn of Africa for 15 years, has claimed responsibility.
“We are getting information on five more confirmed victims, making 13 the total number of civilians killed by the terrorists,” security chief Mohamed Abdikadir told AFP.
“The security forces rescued dozens of civilians, including children trapped in the building.”
Police officer Ibrahim Duale confirmed more than 10 people had been killed but said updated information would be released once the siege was over
Fighters from al-Qaeda-affiliated Al-Shabaab stormed the Hayat Hotel in Mogadishu last night in a hail of gunfire and bombings, trapping dozens of people.
Al-Shabaab has claimed responsibility for last night’s brutal attack on the Hayat Hotel in Mogadishu (pictured) in which at least 12 people are known to have died
“The security forces will announce any moment that the siege is over, it has taken a long time because of the complexity of the rescue mission,” Duale told AFP.
The director of Mogadishu’s main trauma hospital, Mohamed Abdirahman Jama, said the facility treated at least 40 people injured in the hotel attack and a separate mortar attack on another part of the capital.
Mortar attack injures newlyweds
Dozens of people gathered outside the four-storey hotel to discover the fate of loved ones.
“We are looking for a relative of mine who was trapped in the hotel, she was confirmed dead along with six other people, two of whom I know,” said a concerned Muudey Ali.
There has been no official government comment, although the East African group IGAD and Turkey, which has a military base in Somalia, have both strongly condemned.
In another incident, a volley of mortar shells hit the coastal district of Hamar Jajab, district commissioner Mucawiye Muddey told AFP.
“Among the seriously injured 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.
An ambulance is seen today near the site of explosions in Mogadishu
Witnesses reported at least two powerful explosions Friday as gunmen stormed the hotel, a popular spot for government officials in a bustling area on the airport road.
Police spokesman Abdifatah Adan Hassan told reporters on Friday that the first blast was caused by a suicide bomber who broke into the hotel with other gunmen.
Witnesses said a second explosion occurred just minutes later, with more casualties as rescuers, security forces and civilians arrived on the scene.
Al-Shabaab claimed responsibility in a brief statement posted to a pro-Shabaab website, saying its fighters carried out “random shootings” at the hotel.
His spokesman Abdiaziz Abu-Musab told the group’s Andalus radio on Saturday that his troops were still in control of the building and that they had “inflicted heavy casualties.”
Al-Shabaab fighters have carried out several attacks in Somalia since Mohamud took office and have also launched attacks on the border with Ethiopia, raising concerns about a possible new strategy.
Earlier this week, the United States announced that its forces had killed 13 Al-Shabaab operatives in an airstrike, the latest since US President Joe Biden ordered the restoration of a US troop presence in Somalia, marking a decision by his predecessor Donald Trump. turned back. .
Decades of chaos
Mohamud said last month that ending the jihadist insurgency required more than a military approach, but that his government would only negotiate with the group when the time was right.
A security officer patrols near the explosion site in Mogadishu
Al-Shabaab was driven out of the capital by African Union forces in 2011, but it still controls parts of the countryside and continues to carry out deadly attacks on political, civilian and military targets, often hitting popular hotels and restaurants.
Earlier this month, new Prime Minister Hamza Abdi Barre announced the appointment of the group’s former deputy leader and spokesman, Muktar Robow, as minister of religion.
Robow, 53, defected from Al-Shabaab in 2017, with the US government at one point offering a $5 million bounty for his capture.
Somalia has been in chaos since the fall of President Siad Barre’s military regime in 1991.
His ouster was followed by civil war and the ascendancy of Al-Shabaab.
The deadliest attack came in October 2017 when a truckload of explosives exploded in a bustling commercial district of Mogadishu, killing 512 people.
In addition to the insurgency, Somalia is also gripped by a devastating drought that, according to the United Nations, has displaced a million people from their homes and left the country in the shadow of famine.