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Somalia attack: Gunmen storm Mogadishu hotel after blast | |
(35 minutes later) | |
Gunmen have stormed a hotel in the centre of the Somali capital Mogadishu, with reports of at least 10 dead. | Gunmen have stormed a hotel in the centre of the Somali capital Mogadishu, with reports of at least 10 dead. |
The attackers entered the Ambassador Hotel on Maka al-Mukarama street after setting off a car bomb at the gates outside, witnesses said. | |
Politicians and government officials were believed to be staying at the hotel. | |
The al-Shabab militant group was quick to say it was behind the attack, which intelligence officials say is now over. | The al-Shabab militant group was quick to say it was behind the attack, which intelligence officials say is now over. |
The BBC's Somali Service reporter Ibrahim Aden in Mogadishu says the explosion is one of the largest to hit the city and the scale of destruction is huge. | |
There are reports that about 40 people have been wounded, our reporter says. | |
The head of the city's Amiin ambulance service has told the BBC the main Medina hospital is overcrowded. | The head of the city's Amiin ambulance service has told the BBC the main Medina hospital is overcrowded. |
"I was the first person to reach scene. The damage was enormous," Dr Abdulkadir Andirahman Haji Aden said. | |
"My brother and his son were among those injured. We are now in Medina hospital and it is overcrowded with wounded people. I have never seen something like this." | |
Al-Shabab, which is battling the UN-backed government, was driven from Mogadishu in 2011 but still remains a potent threat and frequently carries out attacks in the city. | Al-Shabab, which is battling the UN-backed government, was driven from Mogadishu in 2011 but still remains a potent threat and frequently carries out attacks in the city. |
The government, with the help of African Union forces, is fighting the al-Qaeda-linked group to regain control of the country. | The government, with the help of African Union forces, is fighting the al-Qaeda-linked group to regain control of the country. |
Earlier on Wednesday, the government announced it had killed Mohamed Kuno, the al-Shabab militant who led the attack on Garissa University in Kenya in April 2015 that killed 148 people. | Earlier on Wednesday, the government announced it had killed Mohamed Kuno, the al-Shabab militant who led the attack on Garissa University in Kenya in April 2015 that killed 148 people. |
He was one of 16 al-Shabab militants - four of them senior leaders - killed in an overnight raid on their convoy in Kismayo, a port city in southern Somalia. | He was one of 16 al-Shabab militants - four of them senior leaders - killed in an overnight raid on their convoy in Kismayo, a port city in southern Somalia. |