Dozens of people taken hostage in the standoff at the Hayat Hotel in Mogadishu have been released. Elite armed forces battled the militants for 30 hours from Friday night after the attackers blew up and opened fire inside the hotel, which is popular with lawmakers and other government officials. read more Sign up now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com Register “We have so far confirmed 21 dead and another 117 injured,” Ali Haji, the health minister, told national broadcaster SNTV. “It is possible that there were bodies that were not taken to hospitals but were buried by relatives. The number of dead and casualties are based on the number taken to hospitals,” the minister added. Three attackers were shot dead during the military operation to end the siege, said Hassan, a police chief who gave only one name. The fourth was shot and killed in the area on Sunday morning as he tried to blend into the civilian population, Hassan said, adding that the exact number of attackers was still unclear. The attack was claimed by the al-Qaeda-linked al-Shabaab group, which has been fighting to topple the government in the Horn of Africa country for more than a decade. It wants to establish its own rule based on a strict interpretation of Islamic law. Somali security officers walk past a section of Hotel Hayat, the scene of an attack by al-Qaeda-linked al Shabaab militants in Mogadishu, Somalia, August 20, 2022. REUTERS/Feisal Omar read more Friday’s attack in Hayat was the first major incident since President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud took office in May. The attackers shot and killed civilians who fled towards the wall of the hotel complex and its blown-up gate after they struck, a police chief who gave only the name Ahmed said, adding that they killed 10 security personnel with guns and grenades. . Aden Ali, a survivor, told Reuters he was having a cup of tea in the hotel when he heard the first explosion. He ran towards the compound wall with others as the militants fired at them. “There were many of us running away, more than a dozen. When I came out of the hotel, I could see eight of us. Maybe the rest died in the firing,” Ali said. Another group of people in the hotel escaped upstairs, where they were killed by the militants who first blew up the stairs to prevent the escape, Ali said. Security forces managed to free some of those locked in their rooms on the upper floors after several hours, he said. About 106 people were released, including women and children, a senior police commander said. Residents milled around the bombed hotel on Sunday. The building suffered extensive damage. “We are still investigating the explosions of several plastic bags scattered around the hotel,” said Muhammad Ali, an army officer at the scene. Sign up now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com Register Reporting by Abdiqani Hassan and Abdi Sheikh in Somalia Writing by Duncan Miriri Editing by Christian Schmollinger, Toby Chopra and Frances Kerry Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
