Somali Islamist militants kill 14 in attack on hotel

At least 14 people were killed when Somalia’s al Shabaab Islamist group launched a suicide bomb attack on a hotel in Somalia’s capital before taking an unknown number of hotel guests hostage, police and the militant group said.

The attack began with an explosives-laden vehicle blowing up at the hotel gate and lasted for hours. Gunfire echoed round the capital after the blast and ambulances raced to the scene. Police later said fighting had ended and the last remaining militants were killed on the top floor.

Police captain Mohamed Hussein said after security forces pursued the gunmen who had retreated to upper floors of the Nasa-Hablod hotel, setting up sniper posts on the roof and throwing grenades. Police said at least four gunmen were involved in the attack.

“We have so far confirmed the deaths of 14 people. Some of them died in the hospitals,” Hussein said. The deaths included women who were selling khat, a stimulant leaf popular with Somali men, outside the hotel, he said.

“We attacked the hotel which was frequented by the apostate government members,” al Shabaab military operations spokesman Sheikh Abdiasis Abu Musab told Reuters. He said at least 20 guards and civilians were killed.

Al Shabaab, which frequently carries out attacks in the capital in its bid to topple the Western-backed government, often gives casualty numbers that are higher than figures announced by officials.

A witness, Ali Mohamud, said the attackers shot randomly at guests. “They were shooting at everyone they could see. I escaped through the back door,” he said.

Yusuf Ali, an ambulance driver, said he had evacuated 11 people injured in the attack. “Most of them were wounded in crossfire,” he said.

Al-Shabaab, which is based in Somalia and linked to al-Qaida, has been waging a deadly insurgency across large parts of the country and often employs suicide car bomb attacks to penetrate heavily fortified targets in Mogadishu and elsewhere.

In early June, at least 15 people were killed during an overnight siege at another hotel in the capital, including two members of parliament. Al-Shabaab claimed responsibility.

The latest attack comes during Ramadan, the Muslim holy month, when extremists often step up their attacks.

The assaults in Mogadishu have highlighted the challenges facing the Somali government and African Union forces that are struggling to secure the country. An attack on another Mogadishu hotel and public garden in February killed at least nine civilians. A car bomb outside a restaurant in the capital in April killed at least five.

Al-Shabaab insurgents have been ousted from most of Somalia’s cities, but continue to carry out bombings and suicide attacks.