Al-Shabab militants launch attack on hotel used by government in Mogadishu

MOGADISHU, Nov. 28 (YPA) – Members of the al-Shabaab terrorist group attacked a hotel used by government officials in the Somali capital of Mogadishu, according to police and government officials on Sunday evening.

Sadiq Dudishe, the spokesperson of the Somali Police Force, said in a statement that “A group of al-Shabaab fighters attacked a commercial hotel in the Bondir area and security forces are trying to eliminate them.”

Several civilians and Some government officials at the Villa Rose Hotel, which is close to the presidential palace, were rescued after escaping from windows, he said.

Witnesses said they heard explosions followed by gunfire.

Al-Shabaab, an al-Qaeda-allied terrorist group fighting in Somalia for more than a decade, is seeking to topple the country’s central government and establish its own rule based on a strict misinterpretation of Islamic law.

E.M