Security forces in Somalia have reportedly regained control of the beachside Elite Hotel in the capital Mogadishu, which was attacked by al-Shabab terrorists. At least eleven people were killed, alongside five militants. The stand-off between the militants and Somali special forces began on Sunday when the terrorists detonated a car bomb outside the hotel, which was likely targeted as it is owned by an MP and is frequently visited by government officials.
Government spokesperson Mukhtar Omar tweeted that the security forces engaged in crossfire with the militants during a “deadly” four-hour-long siege, at the end of which they killed all the attackers. Among those that were killed were officials from the information ministry and also the defence ministry. In total, ten civilians and one police officer were killed in the bomb explosion and the ensuing gun battle. Mukhtar revealed that 205 people were rescued, while Aamin Ambulance service head Abdikadir Abdirahman added that 28 people were injured.
#Somali special forces end a 4 hours-long deadly siege at Elite hotel in #Mogadushu after killing the last attacker.
— Ismael Mukhtaar Omar (@imukhtaar) August 16, 2020
Somali President Mohamed Abdullahi Farmajo described the event as a “heinous and cowardly” terrorist attack, saying, “The main purpose of the ambush attacks by the terrorists is to discourage the Somali people who are recovering from difficult circumstances.” He added, “It is a fact that their plan is to harm every Somali through some misguided Somali youth.”
Al-Shabab has links to al-Qaeda and has been fueling instability in the region for over a decade and has escalated its operations over the past two months. Although the military and African Union troops somewhat drove them out of the capital in 2011, the group continues its campaign of bombings and assassinations across Mogadishu.
Last week, imprisoned al-Shabab militants and security officers entered a shootout, resulting in 20 deaths, after several attempted to gather weapons and escape the facility. In fact, Somalia has been beset by instability and violence since 1991, when erstwhile President Siad Barre’s military regime was overthrown, plunging the country into the depths of seemingly never-ending clan warfare.
Al-Shabab has a long history of targeting hotels. In February 2019, it launched a car bomb and gun attack on another hotel in Mogadishu that resulted in 20 deaths. Just one month before that, the group killed 21 people in a similar attack on a luxury hotel in the Kenyan capital of Nairobi. In fact, Omar Mahmood, a senior analyst from the International Crisis Group, says, “Al-Shabaab sees these hotels as an extension of the government more or less, so they are targeted in that way.”
The last major attack by the terror outfit occurred in December 2019, when a car bomb in Mogadishu killed 81 people.