This article is from the source 'guardian' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.

You can find the current article at its original source at https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/jan/25/several-dead-after-militants-storm-mogadishu-hotel

The article has changed 7 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.

Version 1 Version 2
Several dead after militants storm Mogadishu hotel Several dead after militants storm Mogadishu hotel
(about 1 hour later)
At least 13 people have been killed in Somalia’s capital, Mogadishu, after al-Shabaab militants rammed a car bomb into the gate of a hotel and stormed inside, police have said. Islamist militants have rammed a car bomb into the gate of a hotel in the Somali capital, Mogadishu, and stormed inside, killing at least 13 people.
More than a dozen people were also injured, Maj Mohamed Ahmed, a police officer, told Reuters, adding that the death toll could rise. Gunfire rang out as fighters entered the Dayah hotel, which is popular with politicians. A second blast shook the area shortly afterwards, injuring several people.
Gunfire rang out as fighters entered the Dayah hotel and a second blast shook the area shortly afterwards, police and witnesses said. Col Abdiqadir Hussein, a police officer, said security forces later managed to secure the building. “We have rescued the people and concluded the operation at Dayah hotel. The security forces are now inside the hotel and we shall give further details of casualties later,” he said.
“Well-armed mujahideen [fighters] attacked the hotel, and now they are fighting inside the hotel,” according to a report by Somalia’s Andalus radio, which is linked to al-Shabaab. Another police officer, Maj Mohamed Ahmed, said a dozen people had been wounded, in addition to the 13 killed, who included members of the security forces and civilians. “The death toll may rise,” he added.
Al-Shabaab, which until 2011 controlled Mogadishu and much of Somalia, often launches bomb and gun attacks in the capital, saying it wants to topple the western-backed government and impose its strict interpretation of Islam on the nation. Duniye Mohamed, a doctor at Madina hospital where some casualties were taken, said the injured included people with very serious wounds.
The Islamist group al-Shabaab, which until 2011 controlled Mogadishu and much of Somalia, has claimed responsibility for the attack.
“Well-armed mujahideen [fighters] attacked the hotel, and now they are fighting inside the hotel,” reported Somalia’s Andalus radio, which is linked to al-Shabaab.
The insurgents often launch bomb and gun attacks in the capital, saying they want to topple the western-backed government and impose their strict interpretation of Islam on the nation.
In the past two years, a campaign by African Union troops and Somali forces has driven the group out of key urban strongholds, but it remains active from bases in rural areas.In the past two years, a campaign by African Union troops and Somali forces has driven the group out of key urban strongholds, but it remains active from bases in rural areas.
“Shooting is taking place,” Maj Ali Hussein, a police officer at the scene, told Reuters, shortly before the second blast that sent journalists and others near the scene scurrying for safety. Some shops nearby were damaged. The Horn of Africa country swore in nearly 300 members of its parliament last month. The lawmakers will also pick the president, although that vote has repeatedly been postponed.