10 killed in hotel attack in Somalia

SANAA, Feb. 1 (YPA) – At least 10 people were killed in an attack Sunday on a Mogadishu hotel, Anadolu Agency reporte, citing a Somali security source

Somali security forces ended an eight-hour-long siege on a hotel early on Monday following an attack by al-Shabaab militants in the capital Mogadishu, the source said.

According to the source, at least ten people were killed amid the fighting centered on Afrik Hotel, strategically located near the heavily fortified Mogadishu airport and often frequented by government officials, opposition politicians and humanitarian workers.

The casualties include a retired army general as well as four members of the al-Qaeda affiliated insurgent group and five civilians.

The fighting began with a suicide car bomb blast followed by heavy fighting between security forces and attackers.

More than ten people were wounded and rushed to nearby hospitals in the capital for treatment, police spokesman Sadaq Adan Ali told reporters.

E.M