The attack is the first major terrorist attack in Mogadishu since Somalia’s new leader, Hassan Sheikh Mohamud, took office in May. The siege ended around midnight, police commissioner Abdi Hassan Hijar told reporters. “During the attack, security forces rescued many civilians trapped in the hotel, including women and children,” he said. Health Minister Dr. Ali Haji Adam reported 21 deaths and 117 injured, with at least 15 in critical condition. He noted that some victims may not have been taken to hospitals and the death toll could rise. Soldiers patrol outside the Hayat Hotel in Mogadishu, Somalia, August 20, 2022. AP Photo/Farah Abdi Warsameh The Islamic extremist group al-Shabab, which has links to al-Qaeda, claimed responsibility for the attack, the latest in its frequent attempts to hit places visited by government officials. Al-Shabab opposes the federal government and outside groups that support it. Al-Shabab remains the deadliest Islamic extremist group in Africa and the biggest threat to political stability in the volatile Horn of Africa nation. Police have not yet given a detailed explanation of how the attack unfolded and it remains unclear how many gunmen entered the hotel. A police officer told Reuters that two car bombs targeting the hotel’s front barrier and gate were used to gain access to the hotel on Friday night. Ismail Abdi, the hotel manager, told The Associated Press early Sunday that security forces were still working to clear the area. The sound of gunfire ended at 9 am. Onlookers gathered outside the gates of the badly damaged hotel on Sunday morning, taking in the scene. Somalia’s previous president, Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed, avoided any major confrontation with al-Shabaab. But Mohammed has said his government will take on the offensive against the group’s thousands of fighters, backed by returning US forces. Al-Shabab accused via its radio station in Andalusia that the hotel attack was in response to Mohamud’s claim that he would wipe the group out of Somalia. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres condemned the attack, saying the UN supports the people of Somalia “in their fight against terrorism and in their journey to peace”.
Mohamed Abdirahman, director of Mogadishu’s Madina Hospital, told The Associated Press that 40 people were admitted there with wounds or injuries from the attack. While nine were sent home after treatment, five are in critical condition in the ICU, he said. “We were drinking tea near the hotel lobby when we heard the first explosion, followed by gunfire. I immediately ran to the hotel rooms on the ground floor and locked the door,” witness Abdullahi Hussein said by phone. “The militants went straight upstairs and started shooting. I was inside the room until the security forces arrived and rescued me.” He said that on his way to safety he saw “several bodies lying on the ground outside the hotel reception”. Al-Shabaab has seized even more territory in recent years, taking advantage of rifts among Somalia’s security forces as well as disputes between the seat of government in Mogadishu and regional states. It remains the biggest threat to political stability in the volatile Horn of Africa nation. Forced out of Mogadishu in 2011, al-Shabab is slowly making a comeback from the rural areas it retreated to, defying the presence of African Union peacekeepers as well as US drone strikes targeting its fighters. Militants in early May attacked a military base of AU peacekeepers outside Mogadishu, killing several Burundian soldiers. The attack came just days before a presidential vote that returned Mohamed to power five years after he was voted out.