Alwaght- Al-Qaeda affiliated Al Shabab terrorists in Somalia on Friday killed at least 14 people following an attack at a popular hotel in Mogadishu, the capital.
The al-Shabab terrorist group confirmed it attackedd the Somali Youth League hotel, also known as the SYL hotel, which is located in the heavily secured area near the presidential palace.
"We started with a car bomb and then stormed the hotel. We are inside it and fighting continues," al-Shabaab's military operations spokesman, Sheikh Abdiasis Abu Musab, was quoted as saying.
A senior Somali police official Major Ahmad Ismail was quoted as saying that, “One of the blasts took place near the Peace Garden [park] and the other near the SYL hotel. I saw 12 dead civilians, but the toll may well be higher.” Witnesses say over 25 people were injured during the terrorist attack.
The Peace Garden is a popular attraction in the capital, especially on Fridays, when families tend to visit. The SYL hotel often draws government officials and business people for meetings.
On Thursday, Al Shabab terrorists claimed responsibility for a mortar attack that was believed to have been aimed at the presidential palace but fell short, killing at least three civilians and wounding at least eight.
Mogadishu has been plagued by violence for decades, after Somalia’s government collapsed in 1991. In recent years the city has struggled to enjoy something of a renaissance, attracting millions of dollars of new investment, which has helped build many hotels, restaurants and shops.
But the al-Shabab has not gone away. Assassinations and car bombings carried out by the group have become the city’s steady background noise. Many of the biggest hotels have been bombed, and in recent months the al-Shabab Takfiri terrorists have stepped up their attacks across Somalia.
al-Shabab terrorists are affiliated to the al-Qaeda terrorist group but over the recent past elements within the Takfiri group have pledged allegiance to the ISIS terrorist group.
