Eight dead as Somali forces battle Al-Shabaab at besieged hotel
At least eight civilians have been confirmed dead in an attack by Islamist militants on a hotel in the Somali capital Mogadishu, an official said Saturday, as security forces continued to battle gunmen holed up inside.
Fighters from the Al-Qaeda-linked Al-Shabaab group stormed the popular Hayat Hotel on Friday evening in a hail of gunfire and bomb blasts.
Sporadic gunfire and loud explosions could still be heard early Saturday, many hours after the start of the assault.
It is the biggest attack in Mogadishu since Somalia’s new president, Hassan Sheikh Mohamud, was elected in May after many months of political instability.
The jihadist group, which has been waging a deadly insurgency against Somalia’s fragile central government for about 15 years, claimed responsibility.
