Suspected al-Shabaab militants launch suicide attack on a hotel in Mogadishu

Suspected al-Shabaab militants have launched a suicide attack on a hotel in the capital Mogadishu killing at least five civilians. As confirmed by local security forces, a suicide bomber is believed to have detonated a truck bomb at the gate of the Naasa-Hablood hotel which was then stormed by a group of heavily-armed men.
The al-Shabaab has links with al-Qaeda and they have claimed responsibility for the attack.
This has been reported in dailymail.co.uk dated 25 June 2016.

The terrorists are believed to have taken a number of hostages because it is a popular location among the Somali political elite and members of the nation's diaspora who return to the city on business. The terrorists took positions behind blast walls and sandbags and armed guards are trying to repel the militants and, as per reports of eyewitnesses, there was a huge blast followed by heavy machine gunfire.
The intention of the al-Shabaab is to topple the Western-backed government and it has been observed that during Ramadan they target public areas where people gather before they break their daily fast. It may be recalled that in early June an overnight siege by extremist gunmen at another hotel in the capital had left 15 people dead, two of them were members of parliament and al-Shabab had claimed responsibility for that attack also.


Image courtesy wikimediacommons.org

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