Article Author:
Associated Press
Omar Faruk
Mogadishu, Somalia (AP) — At least 10 people were killed in an attack by Islamist militants that stormed a hotel in the Somali capital late Friday. , police and witnesses said.
Security forces rescued many others, including children, from the scene of the attack at Mogadishu's Hayat Hotel, where several others were injured, they said.
The attack began with an explosion outside the hotel before gunmen entered the building.
Gunshots were still audible early Saturday morning as security forces attempted to contain the last shooter thought to be trapped in a hotel. It was unclear how many militants remained on the top floor of the hotel.
The Islamic extremist group al-Shabab claimed it was the latest attack to frequently attack sites frequented by government officials.
The victim's identity was not immediately released.
"I was having tea near the hotel lobby when I heard the first explosion followed by gunshots. I immediately ran to his ground floor room in the hotel and locked it. He did," Abdullahi Hussein, an eyewitness, told his AP by phone. "The militants went straight up to the second floor and started firing. I stayed in the room until the security forces arrived and rescued me."
He said he saw "several bodies lying on the ground outside the hotel reception" on the way to the hotel.
