Armed attackers besiege a hotel near the Presidential Palace. Politicians and foreign guests often stay there.
The Presidential Palace in the Somali capital of Mogadiscio. There are repeated attacks by the Al-Shabab terrorist militia in the city.
(dpa)
Gunmen stormed a hotel near the presidential palace in the Somali capital Mogadiscio, killing at least ten people. Among them were two people with dual Somali-British citizenship, said Mohamed Dahir of the Somali police. The siege of the hotel was still ongoing late Sunday evening.
Somali Security Minister Ahmed Mohamed Doodishe was reportedly among the injured. The hotel is popular with politicians.
The Al-Shabab terror militia, which is linked to Al-Qaeda, spoke of fighting inside the hotel in its propaganda radio program.
The attack in Mogadiscio came two days after a large-scale military operation by Somali government forces in central Somalia that killed 100 al-Shabab members, government sources said.
Somalia, a country in the Horn of Africa with around 16 million inhabitants, has been rocked by attacks and violence for years. The government in Mogadiscio has been conducting a military offensive against Al-Shabab for several months.