17 dead in a terrorist attack on Mogadishu beach hotel
17 people have been killed in the terrorist attack on a luxury beach hotel in the Somali capital Mogadishu. Among the dead are the five perpetrators, authorities said on Sunday evening.
The siege is over after a three-hour shootout between fighters of the Islamist terror group al-Shabaab and the security forces. The perpetrators first detonated a car bomb at the entrance of the hotel, and then forced their way into the building, said government spokesman Mukhtar Omar.
According to Police Commissioner Ahmed Bashane, the remaining 12 victims are two government employees, three hotel guards, and four civilians. Although most of the hotel guests could be taken to safety, 28 injured people had to be taken to the hospital.
The so-called ‘Elite Hotel’, owned by a well-known businessman, normally houses many politicians, journalists, and activists.
Al-Shabaab has claimed responsibility for the attack, which was the work of five terrorists. Although the group has been expelled from the Somali capital, the terror organization still regularly carries out attacks in the region.
Somali President Mohamed Abdullahi Farmajo has condemned the attack. “The terrorists want to create division in our society. Such malicious acts are not going to stop us from leading our country in the right direction,” he said.
Also an attack on the minister
Also, in Somalia, in the southern province of Gedo, Education Minister Abdullahi Godah Barre survived an attack against his convoy. At least one Member of Parliament was injured in the blast. The incident had nothing to do with the attack on the hotel.
