Gunfire heard inside a besieged hotel in Somalia capital. According to authorities, Al Shabaab terrorists besieged the facility near the president's mansion in the capital for nearly a day before Somali security forces stormed the building, ending the siege and killing nine people. More than 12 hours after the Islamist group assaulted the building in the heart of Mogadishu, gunfire heard inside a besieged hotel in Somalia capital as the special forces engaged the militants.
A government minister said that he and otherskicked down a door to escape after being trapped in the hotel after evening prayerswhen a suicide bomber attacked and the gunbattle started. A police spokeswoman claimed that 60 civilians had been rescued. The attack is a reminder that terrorists with ties to al-Qaeda can still do dangerous things inside the capital, sometimes with a high death toll, even though President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud's government is trying to fight them.
The police spokesperson, Sadik Aden Ali, referred to the Villa Rose hotel where the siege took place and said, "The operation at the hotel Rose has been concluded."
In addition to one soldier dying during the siege, Ali later stated that the militants had slain eight civilians. He stated that five soldiers had been hurt.
Five of the six al Shabaab attackers were killed by gunfire from the security forces, while one fighter detonated a suicide bomb, according to Ali.
Al Shabaab, a group with ties to al Qaeda that runs a lot of the country, said it was behind the attack and said it was aimed at the nearby presidential palace in a statement.
Al Shabaab often sets up attacks in Mogadishu and other places. Its goal is to topple the government and replace it with its own rule based on the interpretation of Islamic law.
The Villa Rose Hotel in Mogadishu is frequently used for meetings by government representatives. There are also some residents that work for the government.
Adam Aw Hirsi, the environment minister for Somalia, claimed that a suicide bomber detonated a thunderous bomb outside the hotel where he resides, followed by militants on foot who broke through the hotel's tightly secured perimeter.
On Monday (Nov 28), a local resident and a police officer said gunfire heard inside a besieged hotel in Somalia capital. Parliament said it had to cancel a meeting that was supposed to happen on Tuesday.
Over the last three months, Somali government forces have made a series of military advances against al Shabaab with the help of clan militias, African Union troops, and US air strikes.
It was unclear if the U.S. military participated in the conflict on Monday, despite the fact that it has carried out multiple airstrikes on al Shabaab this year.