Sun 27 November 2022:
Police and government sources report that al-Shabab fighters assaulted a hotel used by government officials in Mogadishu, the capital of Somalia. Security officials said the shooters were wearing “suicide” vests.
There was no word yet on any casualties in the latest al-Shabab armed group attack.
The attackers stormed the Villa Rose hotel, which is close to the presidential palace, with explosives and guns, said police officer Mohammed Abdi on Sunday. It was not immediately clear how many attackers there were, he said.
Some government officials at the Villa Rose were rescued after escaping from windows, said Abdi.
The state minister for the environment, Adam Aw Hirsi, wrote on Twitter that he was safe after a “terrorist explosion targeted at my residence” at the hotel, where many government officials stay.
“We were shaken by a huge blast, followed by a heavy exchange of gunfire,” said Ahmed Abdullahi, who lives close to the scene of the explosion.
“We are just indoors and listening to gunfire.”
Al-Shabaab has been stepping up its operations in Somalia, with two vehicle bombings in the city on October 30 killing at least 100 people.
Al-Shabab, an al-Qaeda-allied armed group fighting in Somalia for more than a decade, is seeking to topple the country’s central government and establish its own rule based on a strict interpretation of Islamic law.
The African Union peacekeeping forces expelled its fighters from Mogadishu in 2011. However, it continues to hold large portions of the country of Somalia, and since President Mohamud took office in May and vowed to wage “all-out war” against the group and has stepped up attacks.
President Mohamud has begun an operation against the organization with assistance from the US and allied local militias, but so far the results have been mixed.
SOURCE: INDEPENDENT PRESS AND NEWS AGENCIES
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