Somalia: 10 Killed After Bombings, Gunfire Hit Mogadishu Hotel
At least 10 people died Monday when gunmen opened fire and detonated bombs at a hotel in Mogadishu, Somalia, local authorities said.
It’s unclear how many people were injured in the attack and the death toll is expected to increase, authorities and ambulance service personnel said. The Islamist militant group al-Shabaab, which has carried out similar attacks in Somalia, took responsibility for the incident in a post on its website.
Eyewitnesses said an explosives-laden truck detonated at the Hotel Dayah, which is near the Somali Federal Parliament and presidential residence. Attackers then entered the hotel, shooting; another vehicle, which delivered some of the shooters, exploded about 40 minutes after the first, killing and injured those who had gathered.
The hotel attracts Parliament members and other officials. The attack Wednesday came as Somalia prepares for a parliamentary election of its president.
The second bomb Wednesday injured at least seven journalists, said Mohamed Ibrahim Moalimu of the National Union of Somali Journalists.
By Ed Adamczyk, original source