Security forces try to contain an attack by Islamist militants on a hotel in Mogadishu, following two car bomb blasts and gunfire, according to police and intelligence officers.
Armed attackers have taken control of a hotel in the Somali capital Mogadishu following two car bomb blasts and gunfire, police and intelligence officers say.An ambulance service said it had carried nine wounded people from the scene"Two car bombs targeted Hotel Hayat. One hit a barrier near the hotel and then the other hit the gate of the hotel. We believe the fighters are inside the hotel," said a police officer who identified himself only as Ahmed.
Abdikadir Abdirahman, director and founder of Mogadishu's Aamin ambulance services, said they had so far carried nine wounded people away from the hotel. There were no more details available on casualties. A witness said the explosions subsided and sporadic gunfire was still heard from the hotel's direction.
The al Qaeda-linked al Shabaab group claimed responsibility for the attack, according to a translation by the SITE Intelligence Group, which monitors Jihadist group statements.Al Shabaab has been fighting to topple the Somali government for more than 10 years. It wants to establish its own rule based on a strict interpretation of Islamic law.Police officers were conducting an operation aimed at stopping the attack, the state-run Somali National News Agency tweeted, citing a police spokesperson.
"The unsung heroes of Somali Police Special Unit have rescued many people from Hayat Hotel in Mogadishu as the security forces are dealing with terrorist incident," the agency later added.Friday's attack is the first major attack since President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud took office in May.In August 2020, it said it was behind an attack on another hotel in Mogadishu in which at least 16 people were killed.
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