At least six people were dead after Islamist terrorist group al-Shabaab bombed and then stormed a popular hotel in Somalia’s capital, Mogadishu, a security official and witnesses said Wednesday.
A suicide car bomber hit the entrance of the Ambassador Hotel, which is popular with government officials and business people, in the city centre shortly before 1500 GMT. The blast destroyed the guarded entrance of the building and damaged several nearby shops, witnesses told dpa.
Two security guards and at least two other people died immediately in the blast, according to security official Mohamed Hassan. The bomber, who was driving the car, also died.
Armed al-Shabaab fighters then stormed the hotel and laid siege to it, said Hassan. But security guards managed to kill one of the insurgents before he could enter the five-storey hotel, according to Hassan.
Somali Security forces meanwhile surrounded the hotel and sealed off the area.
Al-Shabaab spokesman Sheikh Abdiasis Abu Musab claimed responsibility for the attack on pro-insurgent radio Andalus shortly after the bombing.
The group, which is seeking an Islamist state in Somalia and is affiliated with the international al-Qaeda terrorist network, attacks government facilities and hotels in Mogadishu on a regular basis.
During the last major attack on a hotel in the capital in February, al-Shabaab killed 22 people and injured more than 30 others.