Somalia: At least four people were killed after Somalian forces tried to flush out armed assailants who attacked a hotel in Mogadishu on Monday. There were reports of sporadic gunfire on Monday afternoon, more than 18 hours after the attack on the Villa Rose hotel started. Reportedly, the Islamic extremist group al-Shabab has claimed responsibility for the attack. There has been no official report on the death toll at present.
The attack is believed to have started with an explosion before gunmen penetrated the hotel's gates. The latest attack comes amid a new, high-profile offensive by the Somali government against the al-Shabab extremist group, which still controls large parts of central and southern Somalia.
Extremist fighters loyal to the group have responded by killing prominent clan leaders in an apparent effort to dissuade support for the government offensive, and attacks on public places frequented by government officials and others persist. At least 120 people were killed in two car bombings at a busy junction in Mogadishu last month.
A police spokesman said Sunday that scores of people, including government officials, had been rescued from the hotel. Mogadishu resident Mohamed Suleyman told the AP that two of his relatives, both civilians, died in the attack. “It's a great sadness to learn that two of my relatives were among those killed in yesterday night's attack,” he said. “We were informed by their colleagues who managed to escape the attack after jumping (over the perimeter) wall of the hotel.”
The United States has described al-Shabab as one of al-Qaida's deadliest organizations and targeted it with scores of airstrikes in recent years. Hundreds of US military personnel have returned to the country after former president Donald Trump withdrew them.
(With PTI inputs)
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