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An attack by the jihadists took place in the early hours of Friday, August 19, and continued into the early hours of Saturday. Most of the fatalities are civilians. Meanwhile, dozens of wounded were also left, including rescuers and police officers who came after the detonation of two bombs.
Chaos broke out in the heart of Somalia after militants affiliated with Al Shabab, a jihadist group with links to Al Qaeda, attacked the Hayat hotel on Friday night with two car bombs and then opened fire, taking hostages.
This aggression leaves a balance of -for now- 12 people dead, confirmed the spokesman for the Somali Police, Abdifatah Duudushe. Among the deceased is the owner of the building and other businessmen.
The number of casualties is likely to rise when officers are able to advance on the facility in Mogadishu.
An intelligence member stated that efforts are being made to free the indefinite number of hostages who remain inside the second floor of the hotel and affirmed that they took out a good number of citizens and children.
“The security forces will announce at any moment that the siege is over, it took a long time due to the complexity of the rescue mission,” a police officer told AFP.
As per hospital and family accounts, death toll of Hayat Hotel attack rises to nearly 20. Earlier today the body of a clan elder Hassan Yalahow was found near the lobby. Relatives say he was trapped & was killed there. Number of injuries also rises incl. govt officials #Mogadishu pic.twitter.com/XnR0n4BIRO
— Abdalle Ahmed Moomin (@Cabdalleaxmed) August 20, 2022
On the other hand, the director of the main trauma hospital in Mogadishu, Dr. Mohamed Abdirahman Jama, explained that the hospital was treating at least 40 people injured in the attack on the hotel and another with mortars in another area of the capital.
The Hayat is a popular site with politicians and officials, although there is no confirmation as to whether any were inside at the time of this event.
The Somali insurgents of Al Shabab claimed responsibility for the attack, which also included the destruction of stairs, an issue that made it difficult to access some plants.
Columns of smoke, detonations and shots reigned in the Somali night, especially when government forces advanced to take control of the scene.
This attack was the first major coup by the extremists since Hassan Sheikh Mohamud became president. Al Shabab has been seeking to overthrow governments for more than ten years in order to seize power and impose an ultra-conservative administration that strictly interprets Islamic laws.
The extremist group controls different sectors of the country in the Horn of Africa, especially the rural areas of the south and center. In addition, they also make violent incursions into neighboring nations such as Kenya.
With EFE, AFP and Reuters
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