Somalia: Death toll climbs in overnight hotel siege

At least 13 people have died in an overnight siege after terrorist group al-Shabab attacked a hotel in Mogadishu, Somalia, on Friday.

"We are getting information about five more victims confirmed dead and that makes 13 the overall number of civilians killed by the terrorists," security commander Mohamed Abdikadir told the AFP news agency.

Security forces had been working to retake the building as siege dragged into a second day.

AFP reported the siege ended just before midnight Saturday. "The security forces have ended the siege now and the gunmen are dead, we've had no incoming gunfire from the building in the past hour," a security commander told the news agency on condition of anonymity.

"The gunmen are dead," he said, adding that a press briefing would be held Sunday morning.

What happened at the Hayat Hotel?

The Hayat Hotel is located near Mogadishu's international airport. It is a often frequented by lawmakers and other government officials.

Al-Shabab militants blasted their way into the hotel on Friday evening with two car bombs, sending huge plumes of smoke over the area. The attackers then opened fire on guests and staff.

"We were having tea near the hotel lobby when we heard the first blast followed by gunfire. I immediately rushed toward hotel rooms on the ground floor, and I locked [myself in]," one eyewitness told the Associated Press. "The militants went straight upstairs and started shooting. I was inside the room until the security forces arrived and rescued me.''

The state-run Somali National News Agency said the "unsung heroes of Somali Police Special Unit" rescued dozens of people during the attack, including children.

"The security forces will announce any moment that the siege is over, it took a long time because of the complexity of the rescue mission," Duale stressed in comments to AFP.

Police officer Abdullahi Modobe told the DPA news agency that law enforcement had managed to "neutralize two attackers. We assume, however, that there are four to five fighters."

The director of the Somali capital's main trauma hospital, Dr Mohamed Abbdirahman Jama, said the facility was treating at least 40 people wounded in the attack on the Hayat Hotel and in a separate mortar strike in another part of Mogadishu.

What has been the international reaction to the attack?

Farhan Haq, the deputy spokesperson for UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, said, "The Secretary-General strongly condemns the terrorist attack on the Hayat hotel in Mogadishu on 19 August."

Haq added, "The Secretary-General reiterates the solidarity of the United Nations with the Government and the people of Somalia in their fight against terrorism and their march towards peace."

The US embassy pledged "continued support for Somalia to hold murderers accountable & build when others destroy." Turkey's Ministry of Foreign Affairs called the incident a "heinous terrorist attack."

What is al-Shabab?

Al-Shabab is a terrorist group linked to al-Qaida that has been fighting against the Somali government — and foreign peacekeepers — for more than 10 years. It seeks to impose a strict interpretation of Sharia law and has been known to stone women to death in the areas that it controls.

The jihadist militant group has claimed responsibility for numerous attacks in Somalia and east Africa, including the 80-hour siege of Nairobi's Westgate shopping mall in 2013 in which at least 67 people died.

Last month, Somalia's new President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud  said that ending Al-Shabaab's insurgency required more than a military approach, but that his government would negotiate with the group only when the time was right.

Earlier this month, new Prime Minister Hamza Abdi Barre announced that high-profile al-Shabab defector Muktar Robow, who previously served as the group's former deputy leader and spokesman, would be the country's new religion minister.

ar, zc/msh (Reuters, AP, AFP, dpa)