At least ten people were killed Sunday when armed attackers stormed a hotel near the presidential palace in Mogadishu, the capital of Somalia.
Among the victims are two people with dual Somali and British nationality, said Mohamed Dahir, an officer of the Somali Police, in statements to the DPA agency.
The terrorist organization Al Shabaab claimed Sunday an attack launched against a hotel in the country’s capital, a building that was still under siege late Sunday.
Security sources confirmed to the portal Garowe Online, an «ongoing attack» on the Vila Rose hotel, popular with members of the Somali Parliament.
According to these sources, who confirmed the presence of Al Shabaab militiamen, civilians and officials were evacuated and security forces are now trying to neutralize the assailants.
These incidents come after the Somali Army, with U.S. support, has increased the pace of its operations against the jihadist group, one of the most fearsome in Africa, as part of the «total war» declared by Somali President Hassan Shaykh Mohamud.
The attack came two days after a large-scale operation by the Somali army in the center of the country, in which at least a hundred Al Shabaab fighters were killed, including ten leaders of the militia.
