MOGADISHU (SOMALIA) – Somalian government spokesman Ismail Mukhtar Omar said at least 16 people were killed in an attack on a seaside hotel in Mogadishu by al Shabaab Islamist militants on Sunday.
In a Tweet late on Sunday, Omar said the dead include 11 victims and five militants.
“Security forces lost one, 18 people were injured,” Omar said.
Al Shabaab militants attacked the plush Elite Hotel in Lido beach by detonating a car bomb. It is the latest attack by the militant group, which has been waging war against the central government since 2008.
Owned by former finance minister and lawmaker Abdullahi Mohamed Nor, the hotel is often visited by government officials and members of the Somali diaspora.
Director of ambulance service AAMIN Dr Abdikadir Abdirahman said they had ferried 43 injured persons to hospitals after the attack.
Al Shabaab wants to set up its own government based on the strict interpretation of Islamic sharia law.
It has been attacking civilian and military targets over the years in the capital and other parts of the country.
(Photos syndicated via Reuters)
This story has been edited by BH staff and is published from a syndicated field