Somalia: Al-Shabaab attacks Mogadishu hotel killing at least 28 people
Islamist militants detonated a car bomb at the entrance of a hotel in the Somali capital Mogadishu and opened fire inside the lobby, killing at least 28 people, according to government officials and medical workers.
The attack began on Wednesday morning when the militants rammed a car into the gate of Dayah Hotel, located near the Somali parliament, and proceeded to storm inside and exchange gunfire with security guards. AFP reports that a second blast went off shortly thereafter, injuring at least four journalists who had arrived to report on the attack.
“We have confirmed 28 people died and 43 others injured in the two blasts at the hotel,” Abdikadir Abdirahman, director of the Mogadishu ambulance service, told Reuters. Minster of Security Abdirizak Umar had earlier reported that 15 people were killed.
Reuters reports that the radical Islamist terrorist group, al-Shabaab, claimed responsibility for the assault.