Somalia forces have ended their siege of a Mogadishu hotel that left at least 20 people dead with hundreds of others injured following an attack from unidentified gunmen that stormed the building.
Security forces have been trying to clear the Hayat Hotel of attackers since Friday evening when the armed suspects stormed the hotel following gunfire and large explosions in the area. Authorities later revealed that there were at least 30 fatalities and at least 50 injured during the attack.
Somalia Hotel Siege
Fighters were observed taking hostages and using them as "human shields" that slowed down police efforts to end the "terrorist siege," said Police Major Yasin Haji. Previously, law enforcement cleared the first and top floors of the hotel while the gunmen held out on the middle two floors.
There were roughly 106 people who have been rescued, including "children and women," said Police Chief General Abdi Hassan Mohamed Hijar during a televised briefing on Sunday morning. Officials believe that the death toll is likely to increase as a search operation is underway to recover bodies from the debris, as per CNN.
Two security officials, including Mogadishu intelligence chief Muhidin Mohamed, were also wounded during the attack, said Maj. Hassan Dahir, a police officer. It was the Al Qaeda-linked terrorist group Al-Shabaab who claimed responsibility for the attack in a statement posted on its affiliated online sites.
The group said that its fighters managed to take over the hotel after blasting their way into the building. The siege in the upmarket hotel, which is popular with lawmakers and other government officials, is believed to be the longest by the militant group since it was forced out of the Somali capital in 2011.
According to CBS News, the siege was also the first major terror attack in Mogadishu since Somalia's new leader, Hassan Sheikh Mohamud, took over earlier this May. Hijar said that during the attack the security forces rescued many civilians trapped inside the hotel.
Search and Rescue Operations
The region's health minister, Dr. Ali Haji, reported 21 deaths and 117 injured with at least 15 in critical condition. He added that some victims may have not been brought to hospitals, which is the reason for the different death toll reports.
Al-Shabaab opposes the federal government and outside groups that support it and remains the most lethal Islamic extremist group in Africa and the biggest threat to political stability in the volatile Horn of Africa nation.
So far, police have not given a detailed explanation of how exactly the attack unfolded and it remains unclear how many gunmen were able to breach the hotel. A police officer said that two car bombs targeting the hotel's front barrier and gate were used to gain access to the hotel on Friday evening.
The majority of the hotel has been destroyed following intense fighting between the militants and Somalia security forces. There was also video footage that showed explosions and smoke billowing from the building's rooftop.
A former deputy director of Somalia's national intelligence agency, Abdisalam Guled said, "It has been terrible, really terrifying living next door to the gunfire, the explosions. It was one of the most horrible things I have ever seen in Mogadishu," BBC reported.
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