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Al-Qaeda terrorists kill six civilians and wound 10 at Mogadishu beachfront hotel

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Al Qaeda terrorists kill six civilians and wound 10 civilians during deadly six-hour siege of Mogadishu beach hotel

  • Seven Al-Shabaab terrorists attacked the Pearl Beach Hotel in Mogadishu, Somalia
  • The skirmish ended at 2 a.m. Saturday after a six-hour gun battle with security forces

By Alexander Butler and Afp

published: | Updated:

Jihadists affiliated with Al Qaeda killed six civilians and wounded 10 during a six-hour siege of a beachfront hotel in Somalia, police said.

Seven Al-Shabaab militants launched the attack on the Pearl Beach Hotel in Mogadishu, Somalia, just before 8 p.m. on Friday.

The skirmish ended around 2 a.m. after a firefight between security forces and militants, Somali police said.

It is part of a 15-year-long Islamist insurgency against the Somali federal government, which often targets hotels housing senior Somali and foreign officials.

Somali police said: ‘Six civilians were killed in the attack and ten others were injured.

Seven Al-Shabaab militants launched the attack on the Pearl Beach Hotel (pictured) in Mogadishu, Somalia, just before 8 p.m. on Friday.

The skirmish ended around 2 a.m. after a firefight between security forces and militants, Somali police said.

The skirmish ended around 2 a.m. after a firefight between security forces and militants, Somali police said.

“Three brave members of the security forces were tortured during the rescue operation.

“The security forces managed to rescue 84 people, including women and children and the elderly.”

A witness said he was concerned about his co-workers because they were “not responding to their phones” after the shooting.

And others added that they heard “heavy” explosions and gunfire all over the beach hotel.

Witness Abdirahim Ali said, “I was near the Pearl Beach restaurant when a heavy explosion happened in front of the building.

“I managed to flee, but there was heavy gunfire afterwards and security forces rushed to the area.”

Pictured: The damaged Pearl Beach Hotel after the terrorist attack in Mogadishu, Somalia

Pictured: The damaged Pearl Beach Hotel after the terrorist attack in Mogadishu, Somalia

Pictured: Residents stand by the damage at the Pearl Beach Hotel in Mogadishu, Somalia, on Saturday

Pictured: Residents stand by the damage at the Pearl Beach Hotel in Mogadishu, Somalia, on Saturday

Pictured: An ambulance carries victims of the attack away from the hotel in Mogadishu, Somalia

Pictured: An ambulance carries victims of the attack away from the hotel in Mogadishu, Somalia

Witness Yaasin Nur was at the restaurant and said it was “full of people because it was recently renovated.”

He said, “I’m worried because there are several of my colleagues who went there and two of them aren’t responding to their phones.”

At least 613 civilians were killed and 948 injured in violence in Somalia last year, most caused by improvised explosive devices attributed to Al-Shabaab, according to the UN.

The numbers were the highest since 2017 and an increase of more than 30 percent from the previous year.

‘All out war’: the ongoing battle between Al-Shabaab and the Somali government

The attack on Lido beach highlighted endemic security concerns in the Horn of Africa country, which is struggling to emerge from decades of conflict and natural disasters.

Driven from Somalia’s main towns and cities by African Union forces, al-Shabaab still controls large parts of the countryside and continues to launch attacks against security and civilian targets, including in the capital.

Last year, Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud launched an “all-out war” against Al-Shabaab, rallying Somalis to drive away members of the jihadist group he described as “bedbugs.”

His pledge came after 21 people were killed and 117 others injured in an August 2022 Al-Shabaab siege of a hotel in Mogadishu that lasted 30 hours.

That attack raised serious questions about the security forces’ failure to protect a heavily guarded administrative district.

Two months later, double car bombings in Mogadishu killed 121 and injured 333 in the country’s deadliest attack in five years.

The military and militias known as “macawisley” have been retaking parts of territory in the center of the country in recent months in an operation backed by the African Union mission ATMIS and US airstrikes.

But Al-Shabaab fighters killed 54 Ugandan peacekeepers last month in an attack on an African Union base in the southern town of Bulo Marer.

In August 2020, Al-Shabaab launched a large-scale attack on the Elite, another Lido beach hotel popular with officials, killing ten civilians and a police officer.

In that attack, it took security forces four hours to regain control of the site.

Source: AFP

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