26 killed in deadly Somalia hotel siege
MOGADISHU, 13 July । South Somalia said Saturday that a suicide bomber and a suicide bomber blew at a police station in southern Somalia, killing at least 26 people, including several foreigners, and 56 others.
A suicide bomber rammed a vehicle with explosive devices to the Medina hotel in the port city of Kismayo on Friday, before many of the heavily armed gunmen walked inside their way, shooting as they went.
The siege lasted for almost 12 hours and ended on Saturday morning after the clashes with security forces.
Ahmad Mohamed Islam, the third-autonomous Jubaland region, said the three Kenyans, three Tanzanians, two Americans, one British and one Canadian were among the 26 people killed.
“There are also two injured Chinese citizens,” he added. AFP confirmed with family members that were at least four of the dead dual nationality.
A security official, Mohamed Abdiweli said, “The security forces are in control now and the last terrorist was shot and killed”.
“There are dead bodies and wounded people inside the hotel strewn,” Abdiweli said. He said authorities believe that four gunmen, who were described as a Witness, were wearing Somali police uniforms, were involved in the attack.
Shabaab, the Al-Qaeda-linked group, claimed responsibility for the siege as described as “a martyrdom attack”
“There is a lot of chaos, I saw many dead body bodies from the scene and from the nearby buildings,” said Hussein Muktar.
“The blast was very big,” he added. The attack is the latest in a long line of bombings and assaults claimed by Al-Shabaab. Witnesses said among those killed were a well-known social media activist and a local journalist.
“The relatives of local journalist Mohamed Sahal confirmed his death and I am getting that social media activist Hodan Naleyeh and her husband also died in the explosion,” said Shah Farhan. The Somali journalists’ union SJS confirmed the deaths of the deaths. “This is a very sad day for Somalian journalists,” the union’s general general said.
According to several sources, the majority of those in the hotel were politicians and traders ahead of the upcoming regional elections. Muna Abdirahman witnessed that “The whole building is in the ruins, there are dead bodies and injured who are recovered from within.” Security forces have cordoned off the entire area. “
Shabaab fighters have fought for more than a decade to the Somali government. The Taliban group emerged from the Islamic Courts that once controlled central and southern Somalia and are estimated to be between 5,000 and 9,000 men. In 2010, the Shabaab announced their allegiance to Al-Qaeda.
In 2011, they fled to Mogadishu in a position held, and since there were many strongholds lost. But they retain control of large rural swathes of the country and continue to pay a guerrilla war against the authorities.
