According to police and witnesses, Islamic terrorists assaulted a hotel in the capital of Somalia, engaged in an hours-long struggle with security forces that left at least 20 people dead. At least 40 people were injured in the attack on the popular Hayat Hotel in Mogadishu on Friday night, and security forces rescued many others, including children, from the scene on Saturday.
Explosions occurred outside of the hotel before the shooters entered the structure.
Almost twenty-four hours after the attack began, Somali forces were still attempting to end the hotel siege. Saturday evening, gunfire could still be heard as security officers attempted to contain the last attackers, who were believed to be hiding on the hotel’s top floor. The Islamic extremist group al-Shabab, which has ties to al Qaeda, claimed responsibility for the attack, which was the most recent in a series of periodic efforts to strike locations frequented by government leaders. This is the first significant terrorist strike in Mogadishu since Somalia’s new leader, Hassan Sheikh Mohamud, took office in May.
The U.S. Embassy in Somalia stated on Twitter that it “strongly condemns” the Hayat attack.
“We send sympathies to the families of those killed, wish a speedy recovery to those injured, and vow sustained support for #Somalia in its efforts to hold criminals accountable and rebuild when others destroy,” the statement read.
There was no immediate information regarding the victims’ names, however it is thought that the majority are civilians.
Mohamed Abdirahman, the director of Mogadishu’s Madina Hospital, told the Associated Press that forty persons with wounds or injuries sustained in the incident were admitted to the hospital. He stated that while nine patients were released home after receiving treatment, five are in serious condition in the ICU.
“We were drinking tea in the vicinity of the hotel lobby when we heard the first explosion, followed by gunshots. I quickly ran to the ground-floor hotel rooms and locked the door “Abdullah Hussein, a witness, stated through phone. “The militants immediately ascended the stairs and opened fire. I was inside the chamber until the arrival of the security officers, who freed me.”
On his way to escape, he reportedly observed “several bodies laying on the ground outside the hotel reception.”
Al-Shabab is the deadliest Islamic extremist organization in Africa.
In recent years, the organization has captured even more territory, taking advantage of divisions among Somali security officials and disputes between the government seat in Mogadishu and regional states. It remains the greatest threat to the Horn of Africa nation’s political stability.
Al-Shabab, which was forced to evacuate from Mogadishu in 2011, is making a steady resurgence from the rural areas to which it retreated, defying the presence of African Union forces and U.S. drone strikes against its fighters.
Many Burundian soldiers were killed when militants stormed an AU peacekeeping camp outside Mogadishu at the beginning of May. The attack occurred just days before the presidential election that brought Mohamud back to power five years after he was booted out.