Eight civilians are killed in a terrorist attack by the Islamist terrorist militia Al-Shabaab on a well-known hotel in Mogadishu. Security forces only had the situation under control again after 20 hours. More than 60 people can be saved.
After around 20 hours, security forces ended the terrorist attack on a hotel in the Somali capital Mogadishu. All six attackers from the Islamist terrorist militia Al-Shabaab were killed, said police spokesman Sadiq Dodishe at a press conference. Eight civilians were also killed. More than 60 people were rescued from the hotel, according to police.
“I was near the Villa Rose when two powerful explosions shook the hotel. There was heavy gunfire,” eyewitness Aadan Hussein described his experience. “The area was cordoned off and I saw people running away.” Another witness reported: “I saw several military vehicles (…) driving towards the hotel, and a few minutes later there were violent shots and explosions”.
Somali Security Minister Ahmed Mohamed Doodishe was among the injured, police said on Sunday. Heavily armed al-Shabaab fighters stormed the Hotel Villa Rosa, to which only politicians, selected business people and high-ranking state guests have access, on Sunday evening during prayer time. Located near the Presidential Palace, it advertises itself as “the safest place to stay in Mogadishu” on the hotel’s website.
The terrorist militia, which has close ties to al-Qaeda, claimed responsibility for the attack. The attack came two days after a large-scale military operation by Somali government troops in the center of the country, in which the government said 100 al-Shabaab members were killed. Somalia, a country in the Horn of Africa with around 16 million inhabitants, has been rocked by attacks and violence for years. The government in Mogadishu has been conducting a military offensive against Al-Shabaab for several months.