SOMALI FORCES BATTLE TO END MOGADISHU HOTEL SIEGE

Sat 20 August 2022:

More than 10 people were confirmed dead after hotel in Mogadishu, the capital of Somalia, was hit by gunfire and explosions.

On Friday night, gunmen assaulted the Hotel Hayat in a hail of gunfire and bomb blasts. The Hotel Hayat is known to be frequented by government figures.

Al-Shabaab, which has ties to Al-Qaeda has claimed responsibility of the attack.

Attack on Mogadishu hotel leaves several injured; Jihadist group Al-Shabaab claims responsibility.

At least 10 people reported killed in the attack claimed by the al-Shabab group, as security forces continue to battle gunmen holed up inside the hotel.#Mogadishu pic.twitter.com/oq6Nik9NAr

— INDEPENDENT PRESS (@IpIndependent) August 20, 2022

In a statement on a pro-Shabaab website, the militants claimed said: “A group of Al-Shabaab attackers forcibly entered Hotel Hayat in Mogadishu, the fighters are carrying out random shooting inside the hotel.”

Hussein Mohamed, a freelance journalist reporting from outside the hotel in Mogadishu, told Al Jazeera on Saturday that gunfire could still be heard coming from inside the building, and the attackers and government security forces sent to re-take the hotel appeared to be at a stalemate.

Attack on Mogadishu hotel leaves several injured; Jihadist group Al-Shabaab claims responsibility.

At least 10 people reported killed in the attack claimed by the al-Shabab group, as security forces continue to battle gunmen holed up inside the hotel.#Mogadishu pic.twitter.com/VcG0cXzZk9

— INDEPENDENT PRESS (@IpIndependent) August 20, 2022

At least 10 people have been killed in the attack on the hotel, which was very popular with politicians, Mohamed said by telephone from the Somali capital.

“Al-Shabab already claimed responsibility for the attack saying they held hostage several politicians. They did not mention the names of the officials, but the group often carries out such attacks in the capital Mogadishu and may parts of the country,” Mohamed told Al Jazeera.

Talking to AFP, Security official Abdukadir Hassan said, “A huge blast went off a few minutes before the gunmen forced their way into the hotel,” said Hassan.

“We don’t have the details so far but there are casualties, and the security forces are now engaging with the enemy who are holed up inside the building,” he added.

A Reuters report quoting Abdikadir Abdirahman, director and founder of Mogadishu’s Aamin ambulance services puts the number of wounded at nine.

The original explosion was triggered by a suicide bomber who attacked the hotel with a number of other shooters, Somali police spokesperson Abdifatah Adan Hassan told reporters.

He claimed that the attackers were “now being engaged by the police forces, they will be neutralised very soon.”

After the initial explosion, according to witnesses, there was a second bomb outside the hotel that injured rescue workers, security personnel, and bystanders who had rushed to the site.

According to Hussein Mohamed, a freelance journalist in Mogadishu, the assault occurred as government forces intensified their operations against al-Shabab and President Mohamud of Somalia vowed to destroy the militant organization. He continued by saying that the al-Shabab leadership had also pledged to overthrow Mohamud’s administration.

Police officers were conducting an operation aimed at stopping the attack, the state-run Somali National News Agency said on its Twitter account, citing a police spokesperson. The agency posted a picture showing smoke billowing from above the scene.

#UPDATE: 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. #Somalia pic.twitter.com/MDCG4j5EuC

— SONNA (@SONNALIVE) August 19, 2022

Al-Shabab 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.

SOURCE: INDEPENDENT PRESS AND NEWS AGENCIES

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