At least 10 people were killed as gunmen stormed two hotels in the Somali capital of Mogadishu, Somali police officials said Friday.
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“There was a loud blast and explosions”, said police officer Abdi Dhuhul, dding that the gunmen “stormed the building”.
There was no immediate claim of responsibility, but the Islamic militants have stepped up their attacks during Islam’s holy fasting month of Ramadan, and the attack Friday came as people settled down to break their daylight fast.
Somalia’s security forces intervened shortly after the assault began, engaging in a firefight with the gunmen, he said. The operation here is finished. “So far we know six civilians died”, Umar Ali, a police officer, told Reuters from near the hotel.
The wreckage of a burned-out vehicle littered a nearby street, and the facade of the Siyad hotel was pockmarked by bullets.
At the same time of the hotel sieges, there was also a mortar attack on a base of the African Union.
The hotels are located on a road that connects the worldwide Mogadishu Airport with the country’s presidential palace. The AU is helping the government battle al Shabaab, which is part of al Qaeda.
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The attacks were allegedly carried out by Al-Shabaab fighters, who detonated a bomb-laden auto around the hotels ahead of their armed attack.
