Several members of the terrorist group Al Shaabab stormed the establishment, which is frequented by members of the government of Somalia, and detonated the explosive vests they were wearing.
At least 12 people have been killed in an attack by terrorists from the Al-Qaeda-affiliated Al-Shabaab group on a central hotel in the Somali capital Mogadishu. The attack took place in the early hours of the morning, although police have not yet ended the operation or rule out the possibility of further fatalities. The shots rang out in the vicinity of the establishment this Saturday morning. The night also ended with an unspecified number of injured, including police officers and Somali intelligence officers.
The militiamen chose the Hayaat hotel for their attack, possibly because it is a place frequented by politicians and officials of the country. According to the initial investigation, the attackers broke into the building at dusk and one of them detonated the explosive vest he was wearing. Several customers came to help the injured, after which another suicide bomber is said to have also activated his vest. From there, there have been races and panic attacks by customers who have taken refuge in the hotel. Police have reported that after that initial attack, at least three more explosions were heard near the Hayaat and bursts of gunfire.
The confrontation between the security forces and the terrorists, entrenched in the corridors of the building, lasted all morning and lasted in the area this morning. Hundreds of civilians and customers, including some children, have been evacuated by security forces.
Al Shaabab, a Somali group affiliated with Al Qaeda, has claimed responsibility for the attack and reported that its militants blew themselves up in it. This is the jihadist movement’s first major attack since its new president, Hasan Sheikh Mohamud, took office last June. In mid-August, the US military dealt a heavy blow to its structure by killing 13 terrorists in a bombing raid on an Al Shabaab base in Teendan, a city in southern Somalia. The Pentagon reported that it was a support operation for the Somali armed forces, which have been fighting the Islamist terrorist group for years. The White House has been transferring military personnel to the country since May last year after the previous president, Donald Trump, ordered it to withdraw in 2020.
Source: La Verdad
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