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| Mogadishu hotel attack: At least three dead after as al-Shabaab launch bomb and shooting assault in Somalia | |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| At least three people have been killed in a terror attack at a hotel in the Somali capital of Mogadishu. | |
| Witnesses said they heard at least one large explosion followed by gunfire on Wednesday, while local reports said a siege was believed to be underway. | Witnesses said they heard at least one large explosion followed by gunfire on Wednesday, while local reports said a siege was believed to be underway. |
| A huge plume of smoke could be seen rising from the Ambassador Hotel as gunmen remained inside. | |
| The al-Qaeda-linked terrorist group al-Shabaab swiftly claimed responsibility for the attack, saying it had detonated a car bomb. | The al-Qaeda-linked terrorist group al-Shabaab swiftly claimed responsibility for the attack, saying it had detonated a car bomb. |
| “A suicide car bomber has targeted the Hotel Ambassador along Maka Al Mukaram Road. He rammed into the gate. It is too early to know casualties,” Colonel Ali Mohamed, a police officer, told Reuters. | |
| Another police officer, Major Ibrahim Hassan, said fighters were believed to be inside the hotel, adding: “So far we have confirmed three people have died and a dozen others wounded.” | |
| It follows a previous attack in March last year, when al-Shabaab militants stormed the Makka al-Mukarama hotel, starting a hostage crisis that lasted for several hours and left more than 20 people dead. | It follows a previous attack in March last year, when al-Shabaab militants stormed the Makka al-Mukarama hotel, starting a hostage crisis that lasted for several hours and left more than 20 people dead. |
| The Ambassador Hotel lies around a mile along the same road, which runs towards the presidential palace and is lined with hotels, restaurants and banks in the heart of the capital. | |
| The attack came days before an expected visit from the Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who was fprecast to make an unannounced stopever in Somalia during a tour of Kenya and Uganda. | |
| There have been several attacks on hotels in Somalia and other countries in Africa where Islamist groups are active, particularly targeting those known to host foreign tourists, politicians and diplomats. | There have been several attacks on hotels in Somalia and other countries in Africa where Islamist groups are active, particularly targeting those known to host foreign tourists, politicians and diplomats. |
| In Mogadishu, the Somali Youth League (SYL) hotel was targeted in February, a restaurant on Lido beach in January and the Jazeera Palace hotel in July 2015. | |
| Somali security forces are launching multiple operations against al-Shabaab fighters, announcing the deaths of 17 militants including the head of their intelligence unit and a Mohamud Ali Dulyadeyn, also known as Mohamed Mohamud, who was suspected of orchestrating an attack on Kenya's Garissa university on Wednesday. | |
| Al Shabaab, which is fighting an insurgency aiming to topple Somalia's government, was driven out of Mogadishu by the African Union force Amisom in 2011, and was ousted from strongholds elsewhere in the south last year. |