Somalia: At least eight civilians killed in a Shebab attack on a hotel in Mogadishu
Steph Deschamps / August 20, 2022
At least eight civilians were killed in clashes between radical Shebab Islamists who attacked a Mogadishu hotel and security forces trying to neutralize them, a security official said Saturday.
Security forces continued to neutralize the terrorists who were surrounded in a room in the hotel building, most people were rescued but at least eight civilians are confirmed dead at this stage, said the official, Mohamed Abdikadir. Shebab jihadists, affiliated with al-Qaeda, stormed the Hayat Hotel on Friday night amid a hail of gunfire and bomb blasts. Security forces rescued dozens of civilians, including children, who were trapped in the building, Abdikadir added.
The attackers were still holed up in the hotel early Saturday, with sporadic gunfire and loud explosions heard in the area. It was the biggest attack in the Somali capital since the election of President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud in May. A dozen people were gathered in front of the building overnight trying to get news of their loved ones.
We were looking for a member of my family (...) trapped inside the hotel, his death was confirmed as well as that of six other people, two of whom I know, said Muudey Ali, one of those people.