The Somali Ministry of Health confirms 21 dead and 117 injured in the Al Shabaab attack on the Hayat hotel

Aug. 21 (EUROPA PRESS) –

The Somali Ministry of Health has confirmed this Sunday at least 21 dead and 117 injured in the attack by the jihadist organization Al Shabaab on the Hayat hotel, in the country’s capital, Mogadishu, which led to a police siege of more than 24 hours against entrenched terrorists.

The balance of the Ministry, collected by the American international radio station Voice of America, also details that 15 of the injured are in serious condition and that a total of 106 people were rescued from the hotel once the police siege ended early this Sunday. .

The figure lowers the approximately 30 deaths that security sources had detailed in previous hours to the Somali media, but it is unknown if it includes the terrorists neutralized by the authorities.

Al Shabaab, for its part, has put the assault on the hotel at 40 dead and 70 wounded, in which armed men barricaded themselves all night after shooting and exploding charges in the vicinity of the place.

The deputy spokesman for the UN Secretary General, Farhan Haq, has “strongly” condemned the terrorist attack and has shown his condolences to the families of the victims. Haq has wished that the wounded have “a speedy recovery”.

The EU delegation in Somalia has also spoken out and condemned this “cowardly attack” on Twitter. Likewise, she has expressed support for the authorities and citizens “in their search for peace and stability.”

The assault is unprecedented in recent months and would be the first of its magnitude launched by Al Shabaab in the capital since Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud took office in early June.