At least 23 dead, over 30 injured in Somalia hotel attack

Security forces ended an overnight siege by militants Sunday at a hotel in Somalia's capital after a bombing and shootout that killed 23 people, and the government fired its police and intelligence chiefs amid the continuing extremist attacks.

The Cabinet action followed a recommendation by Security Minister Mohamed Abukar Islow. It came hours after the end of the attack on the Nasa-Hablod Hotel and two weeks after more than 350 people were killed in a massive truck bombing on a busy Mogadishu street in Somalia's worst-ever attack.

The bloodshed has shaken public confidence in the ability of the military to protect the capital, and many Somalis blame the government for not doing enough.

"We are dying in hundreds now," said resident Ahmednur Hashi. "Who is going to protect us?"

Capt. Mohamed Hussein said that troops regained control of the hotel on Sunday morning, having killed three attackers and captured two alive.

Thecoordinated attack involvedasuicide truck bombing outside the hotel, wheresecurity forces exchanged gunfire with attackers inside the building. The initial blast was followed by two more and one of the attackersdetonated a suicide vest.

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Speaking to The Associated Press by telephone from the scene, Capt. Mohamed Hussein said 30 people, including a government minister, were rescued from the Nasa-HablodHotel as heavy gunfire continued in the standoff between extremists and security forces.

The attackers hurled grenades and cut off the building's electricity as night fell.

Saturday's blasts came two weeks after more than 350 people were killed in a massive truck bombing on a busy Mogadishu street in the country's worst-ever attack.

Al-Shabaab, Africa's deadliest Islamic extremist group, quickly claimed responsibility for Saturday's attack and said its fighters were inside the hotel.

Among the dead were a mother and three children, including a baby, all shot in the head, Hussein said. Other victims included a senior Somali police colonel, a former lawmaker and a former government minister. Footage from the scene showed twisted vehicles and nearby buildings with only walls left standing.

'Everybody's terrified. What next?': Somali-Canadian nurse describes Mogadishu blast

7 years ago

Duration 4:45

Hodan Ali was at city hall in Mogadishu when Saturday's deadly explosion occurred outside a popular hotel in the Somali capital

Mohamed Dek Haji said he survived the bombing as he walked beside a parked car that was largely destroyed by the explosion. He said he saw at least three armed men in military uniforms running toward the hotel after the suicide bombing at its gate.

"I think they were al-Shabaab fighters who were trying to storm the hotel," he said, lying on a hospital bed.

He suffered small injuries on his shoulder and skull from flying glass.

'State of war'

Witnesses in some previous attacks have said al-Shabaab fighters disguised themselves by wearing military uniforms.

Al-Shabaab often targets high-profile areas of Mogadishu. It has not commented on the massive attack two weeks ago; experts have said the death toll was so high that the group hesitated to further anger Somali citizens as its pursues its insurgency.

Since the blast two weeks ago, President Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed has visited regional countries to seek more support for the fight against the extremist group, vowing a "state of war." He also faces the challenge of pulling together regional powers inside his long-fractured country, where the federal government is only now trying to assert itself beyond Mogadishu and other major cities.

A 22,000-strong multinational African Union force in Somalia is expected to withdraw its forces and hand over the country's security to the Somali military by the end of 2020. U.S. military officials and others in recent months have expressed concern that Somali forces are not yet ready.

The U.S. military also has stepped up military efforts against al-Shabaab this year in Somalia, carrying out nearly 20 drone strikes, as the global war on extremism moves deeper into the African continent.

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