A police official says an Islamic extremist attack on a hotel in the Somali capital has killed at least two people.
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“We are confident that the removal from the terrorist network of this experienced al-Shabaab commander with extensive operational experience will disrupt near-term attack planning, potentially saving many innocent lives”, he said.
Videos posted to twitter showed a large plume of smoke from the explosion rising into the sky.
Al Qaeda-affiliated al-Shabab militants quickly claimed responsibility for the attack at the Hotel Ambassador and one police officer said some fighters might be inside the hotel.
Another witness, Ibrahim Sheikh Nur, added: “I saw several dead bodies outside the hotel but we don’t know how many people are inside and the casualties there”.
Al-Shabaab, which has been battling the Somali government for years, stages periodic attacks in the country.
The group has also been behind deadly attacks in Kenya and Uganda.
Politicians and government officials were believed to be staying in the hotel.
Capt. Mohamed Hussein says the attack Wednesday evening on the Ambassador Hotel is continuing. They said they did not have details of that operation and they have not yet confirmed if Dulyadayn was killed.
The U.S. conducted an airstrike against senior al-Shabaab military commander Abdullahi Haji Da’ud in south-central Somalia on May 27, the Pentagon said Wednesday.
In the second incident, Abdirashid Hassan Abdi, the semi-autonomous Jubbaland region’s security minister said its forces had killed 16 al Shabaab fighters in Bulagadud, some 30 km to the north of the Indian Ocean port of Kismayu.
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Al Shabaab soldiers patrol in formation along the streets of Dayniile district in Southern Mogadishu, March 5, 2012.
