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4 Rebels and 15 Somali Civilians Killed in an Attack on the Elite Hotel, in Mogadishu

August 6, 2020

Evacuation of wounded victims of Mogadishu explosion at the Elite hotel, August 16, 2020

 

At least 15 killed in attack on hotel in Somalia's capital

Hiiraan, Sunday August 16, 2020

All 4 attackers killed and dozens rescued from Mogadishu hotel, officials say

Somalia's security forces on Sunday ended a nearly five-hour siege by (rebels) at a beachside hotel in Somalia's capital, said police and a government spokesperson.

At least 15 people were killed when the attackers invaded the Elite Hotel, a new establishment popular with Mogadishu's young people, said Col. Ahmed Aden, a police officer.

 Security forces later killed all four attackers and rescued dozens of people who were trapped inside the hotel, Ismail Mukhtar, spokesperson of Somalia's information ministry told The Associated Press.

The attack started in the afternoon with a powerful car bomb blast which blew off the security gates to the hotel. Then gunmen ran inside and took hostages, mostly young men and women who were dining there, he said.

Ambulance sirens could be heard in the area which had a power outage when the attack started.

Somalia's homegrown rebels, al-Shabab, have claimed responsibility for the attack via its radio arm, Andalus.

The hotel attack shattered a period of calm that had lasted for a few months. Earlier this year Somalia had a spate of bomb attacks.

https://www.hiiraan.com/news4/2020/Aug/179562/update_at_least_15_killed_in_attack_on_hotel_in_somalia_s_capital.aspx?utm_source=hiiraan&utm_medium=SomaliNewsUpdateFront

Mogadishu attack: Somali troops end deadly siege at Elite Hotel

BBC, August 16, 2020

Somali special forces say they have ended a siege at a hotel in the capital Mogadishu that was stormed by armed al-Shabab militants.

At least 10 people are reported to have been killed at the Elite Hotel in the Lido beach area, plus an unknown number of militants.

The attackers detonated a car bomb outside the hotel on Sunday before storming it and seizing hostages.

The recently built hotel is owned by an MP and is popular with officials.

Witnesses said that the initial blast was heard across Mogadishu and there was chaos as people fled the area.

Security forces sealed off the hotel and exchanged fire with the gunmen inside. Four hours later, government spokesman Ismael Mukhtaar Omar tweeted that the siege was over and all the gunmen had been killed.

It was not immediately clear how many militants had taken part in the attack.

Among the dead are reported to be a senior official from the information ministry and another official from the defence ministry. Dozens more people were reported to be wounded.

The privately-owned Somali news website Dhacdoone described the hotel as one of the most heavily guarded facilities in Mogadishu.

An earlier statement posted online attributed to al-Shabab said: "The mujahideen have launched an operation consisting of martyrdom [suicide bombing] and a commando raid against a hotel belonging to an MP from the apostate group [Somali government]."

Al-Shabab, which is linked to al-Qaeda, has been waging a brutal insurgency in Somalia for more than a decade.

It has been pushed out of Mogadishu by government and African Union troops, but the group still carries out bombings and assassinations in the city.

Over the past two months attacks by the jihadist group have increased in the capital.

Last week a shootout between jailed al-Shabab members and security officers at a prison claimed at least 20 lives.

The militants - who had managed to obtain weapons - had tried to escape from a heavily guarded prison in Mogadishu.

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-53798834 

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