Unidentified gunmen stormed Hayat Hotel in Mogadishu and killed at least 20

Mogadishu, the capital of Somalia, witnessed an attack by unidentified gunmen. They stormed Hayat Hotel and killed at least 20 persons. A doctor at a hospital revealed that the death toll could rise because many of the victims were in critical condition. This is the Madina, which is one of the two major hospitals in Mogadishu. The victims of the hotel attack were hospitalized here and bodies are still arriving at the hospital. An official of the police confirmed to a section of the media that security forces had entered the hotel building and regained control from the gunmen. Mogadishu hotel attack: Death toll rises. Two security officials suffered injuries in the ongoing attack.

Al-Shabaab, the Al Qaeda-linked terrorist group, has claimed responsibility for the attack. It has said in a statement that its fighters had taken over the managed to take over the hotel. They had blasted their way into the building. However, there is no confirmation about this from other more authentic sources. A recent air strike by the United States did eliminate several members of the Al-Shabaab group. The US Africa Command had confirmed this earlier. It is not clear whether this has any link to the attack on the Hyat Hotel. Recently, in May, US President Joe Biden took a decision to redeploy US troops to Somalia in order to extend support to the local government and to counter threats of al-Shabaab. This was a reversal of decision taken by former President Donald Trump regarding withdrawal of all US troops from the country.

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Gunmen disguised as doctors shoot dead 38 persons in a Kabul hospital

In an attack that lasted for six hours, gunmen disguised as doctors, stormed Afghanistan's largest military hospital and shot dead at least 38 people - responsibility for the attack has been claimed by the Islamic State group and they have done it to make inroads into the war-battered country.
Another more than 70 people sustained injuries in the assault on the Sardar Daud Khan hospital located in the Wazir Akbar Khan neighborhood of Kabul with explosions and gunfire rattling the diplomatic district.
This has been reported in timesofindia.indiatimes.com dated 8 March 2017.

There were three gunmen wearing white laboratory coats and they began to spray bullets after a suicide bomber on foot blew himself up at the rear entrance which sparked chaos inside the 400-bed facility. A witness has revealed that one of the attackers was armed with an AK-47 and was dressed as a doctor and he shot patients and guards on the third floor.
The attackers were gunned down after special forces landed on the roof of the hospital in a military helicopter. This attack comes just a week after 16 people were killed in simultaneous Taliban suicide assaults on two security compounds in Kabul.


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Six people shot dead by gunmen in a mosque in Quebec City during evening prayers

Six people have been shot dead by gunmen in a mosque in Quebec City, Canada, during evening prayers. Another eight people were wounded in the attack and some of them are seriously injured. Two masked gunmen had started shooting inside the Quebec City Islamic Cultural Centre. At that time, there were more than 50 men, women and children in the mosque.
They have revealed that the attackers had a native accent and shouted "Allahu akbar" as they opened fire.
This has been reported in news.sky.com dated 30 January 2017.

Those who lost their lives were between 35 and 70 years old and some of the wounded are in a critical condition and were taken to different hospitals across the city.
Police have arrested two people - one of them at the scene of the attack, the other in nearby d'Orleans, Quebec. Their identities have not been disclosed and the motive for the attack is being investigated.
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has condemned this terrorist attack on Muslims in a centre of worship and refuge.
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Woman beheaded in Afghanistan for entering a city without her husband

Another instance of atrocities on women in Afghanistan has come to light. A woman has reportedly been beheaded by a group of armed men after she entered a city without her husband. The incident took place in the remote village of Latti in Sar-e-Pul province, which is under Taliban control but, the Taliban have rejected any involvement in the incident.
This has been reported in dailymail.co.uk dated 28 December 2016.

It seems the 30-year-old woman was targeted because she went out alone without her husband, who is in Iran. She had apparently gone to the market to shop. Under Taliban rule, women are not supposed to leave their homes unless they are accompanied by a close male relative. Moreover, they are banned from working or education and are forced to wear the burqa.
Earlier this month five female Afghan guards who were working in the airport in southern Kandahar were killed by unknown gunmen as they were on their way to work. These five women were in charge of searching female travelers at the Kandahar airport, and had been hired by a private security company. They were killed by two gunmen on motorbike who followed their van and opened fire on them, killing them as well as their driver.


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Militant attack on a Shiite shrine in Kabul leave 14 dead

A militant attack on a Shiite shrine in Kabul has left behind at least 14 dead with another 26 people wounded in the attack on Sakhi Shrine in the city's western suburbs. The dead included 13 civilians and one policeman and, in addition, another three police officers were wounded.
This shrine is the largest such shrine in Kabul.
This has been reported in foxnews.com dated 11 October 2016.

Initially it was given to understand that there were three gunmen but, actually, only one gunman was involved and he was shot dead by police. The incident happened as Shiites had gathered ahead of Wednesday's Ashoura. This is a holy day of mourning to commemorate the death in 680 AD of the Prophet Muhammad's grandson, Imam Hussein.
Kabul police had alerted the Shiites against large gatherings because attacks were expected. It seems there were credible reports that Ashoura activities would be targeted and Shiites had been advised to hold the ceremonies "within limits."
Incidentally, Shiites make up an estimated 15 percent of Afghanistan's population of around 30 million people and most of the Afghan Shiites are ethnic Hazaras. Since militant Sunni fundamentalists like the Taliban and the Islamic State group look at Shiites as apostates, there are frequent attacks on Shiite mosques and public gatherings.


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Twenty people have been killed after gunmen struck a popular restaurant Holey Artisan Bakery in Dhaka and took dozens of hostages during a 12-hour siege. It has been officially confirmed that those who died had been killed with sharp weapons. Around six and 10 attackers stormed the building in the Bangladesh​i capital's diplomatic zone.
This has been reported in news.sky.com dated 2 July 2016.

Six gunmen were killed and one captured while 13 hostages were rescued and the operation was declared over. Bangladesh's Prime Minister, Sheikh Hasina, has confirmed that one of the militants had been arrested. As per the eyewitness of a kitchen staffer, the gunmen were armed with firearms and bombs and entered the bakery at around 9.20pm local time and took customers and staff hostage at gunpoint. There were 20 foreigners taken hostage.
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At least 19 killed in attack on Bacha Khan University in Pakistan - Taliban claims responsibility

#bachakhanuniversity #pakistan #taliban At least 19 persons have been killed in an attack on Bacha Khan University in Pakistan - a Taliban commander has claimed responsibility for the attack. Four of the attackers are believed to have been killed at the campus building situated in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, in northwest Pakistan.
This has been reported in news.sky.com dated 20 January 2016.

It seems the militants were wielding AK-47s and used the cover of a thick, wintry fog to scale the walls of the University in the town of Charsadda, located about 30-Km from the city of Peshawar. Once inside, they began indiscriminate firing on teachers and students in classrooms before engaging in a three-hour gun-battle with police and soldiers.
There were explosions from inside the campus and female students ran for their lives while relatives waited at the gates. Most of the victims were shot dead at a hostel for male students on the campus site and, as per official figures, around 50 had been wounded and the number of dead could rise to as high as 40. At least one lecturer of chemistry is among those who lost their lives. He had tried to shoot back at the militants.
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The incident has been reported in dailymail.co.uk dated 7 January 2016.

Among the tourists were two Israelis and, the incident took place in front of the Three Pyramids Hotel which was sprayed with bullets.
Incidentally, Egypt's Coptic Orthodox Christians are celebrating Christmas today in the predominantly Muslim country and tourism is the mainstay of the Egyptian economy. It has been struggling to recover from political turmoil that had been triggered by the 2011 uprising in which Hosni Mubarak was toppled from power.
President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi has already declared an all-out war on Islamist militants, who are trying to destabilize the country through suicide bombings and shooting attacks. On October 31, Islamic State's Egypt affiliate had planted a bomb on a Russian passenger plane that crashed in the Sinai killing all 224 people on board. As a result, Russia put a stop to all Russian flights to and from Egypt, while Britain has suspended air links with Sharm el-Sheikh, where the plane took off.
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A group of gunmen raided a shopping mall near France and took 18 hostages. The police believes that the gunmen were hiding in the mall because the CCTV showed them entering but there is no evidence to sow that they had left. Police are treating this as an attempted robbery.
This has been reported in dailymail.co.uk dated 13 July 2015.

Police succeeded to free the 18 staff members who were trapped inside the building. In the opinion of the police, one of the gunmen could have been an employee of Primark and could still be hiding in the Qwartz mall in Villeneuve-la-Garenne just north of Paris.
It seems the gunmen stormed the store soon after 6am when the employees arrived for work. The area in the vicinity of the mall was shut down, all traffic stopped and other stores in the vicinity closed as Special Forces rushed to the scene.
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Al-Shabaab attacks students in Garissa – 15 killed, unknown numbers taken hostage

#Garissaattack #alshabaab #kenya #gunmen #hostage Al-Shabaab militants stormed a university in Garissa, north-eastern Kenya and have killed at least 15, injured over 65 others while taking away an unknown number of students as hostage. This has been reported in bbc.com dated 2 April 2015.
Troops are engaging the gunmen and, from information available, it seems masked attackers had fired indiscriminately and the number of casualties could increase. The Al-Shabaab is linked to al-Qaeda, and it appears it was holding Christians as hostage while setting free the Muslims.

They have done such segregation earlier also. The hostages from the two groups had been separated, and 15 of the Muslims had already been released. This is what they had done previously namely, sparing the lives of Muslims while killing the non-Muslims.
Kenya's Interior Minister Joseph Nkaissery has revealed to journalists that five masked gunmen are said to have stormed the university and one of them had been killed as he tried to flee. Moreover, out of 815 students, 535 had not yet been accounted for. The Kenyan Red Cross has added that about 50 students had been "safely freed", but an unknown number were still being held hostage by the militants.

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17 tourists killed in Tunis museum attack – both gunmen are dead

#BardoNationalMuseum #Tunis #tunisia #gunmen A situation is gradually coming when tourists are not safe from attacks by militants as has been seen in the attack on Bardo National museum in Tunis when 17 tourists were killed. It seems one of the gunmen who had carried out the attack was known to the authorities. The tourists who have been killed in the attack included visitors from Japan, Italy, Colombia, Australia, France, Poland and Spain. A British woman is among those killed.
The museum is a popular tourist destination and, at the time of the attack, it was crowded and more than 40 people, including tourists and Tunisians, were injured. The gunman held the tourists hostage for several hours at the museum. This has been revealed in bbc.com dated 19 March 2015.
Prime Minister Habib Essi has reportedly told RTL Radio that security services had flagged up one of the attackers, Yassine Laabidi. However, they were not aware of "anything specific", or of any links to known militant groups.
One of the two Tunisians involved in the attack was a police officer. Both the gunmen were also killed and a search has been launched for other suspects linked to them because two or three accomplices are believed to still be at large.
It seems on Thursday, three people - two Spanish tourists and one Tunisian museum worker – had been found at the museum. They had hidden there overnight.

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Masked gunmen storm luxury hotel in Tripoli and kill 8 persons

#corinthiahotel #tripoli #lybia #gunmen Masked gunmen struck the Corinthia luxury hotel, which sits along the Mediterranean Sea, in Tripoli and killed 8 persons – five of them were foreigners and the other three were security guards. The hotel usually has Italian, British and Turkish guests but was largely empty when the attack happened.
It is understood that the Tripoli branch of Islamic State (ISIS) has claimed responsibility, the Site Intelligence monitoring group said.
The attack included a car bombing and, Mahmoud Hamza, commander of the Special Deterrent Force, has indicated that the situation was under control. He could not, however, confirm the whereabouts of the gunmen.
There were rumors about hostages being taken but that has not been confirmed. Two commercial landmark towers located behind the hotel were evacuated due to security concerns.
Incidentally, this hotel is where the militia-backed prime minister, Omar al-Hassi, usually resides – he was not in the hotel when the attack took place.
In the opinion of experts, the attack was designed for maximum impact because it comes at a time when the UN is beginning a new round of Libya peace talks in Geneva.
The Pentagon had warned in December about the presence of ISIS in Libya and that its influence was growing. Also, that there was evidence that it had set up training camps. In the last nearly six months of fighting, more than 1000 have died while some of the towns are in ruins and over 400,000 people have been displaced.