SOMALIA-SECURITY/AFTERMATH Atleast 13 dead in al Shabaab attack on Somali hotel

Record ID: 146286

  • Title: SOMALIA-SECURITY/AFTERMATH Atleast 13 dead in al Shabaab attack on Somali hotel
  • Date: 26th July 2015
  • Summary: MOGADISHU, SOMALIA (JULY 26, 2015) (REUTERS) ***WARNING CONTAINS FLASH PHOTOGRAPHY*** VARIOUS OF JAZEERA HOTEL VARIOUS OF WRECKAGE OF CAR AT THE SCENE MORE WRECKAGE AT THE SCENE OF SUICIDE ATTACK (SOUNDBITE) (Somali) SOMALIA SECURITY MINISTER, MOHAMED YUSUF, SAYING: "Five people died outside this hotel when the suicide truck struck. Four others were wounded inside the hote
  • Embargoed: 10th August 2015 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Somalia
  • Country: Somalia
  • Topics: General
  • Reuters ID: LVA50ATTU9QIUIF92XJ1N45YX9FO
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text: At least 13 people were killed on Sunday (July 26) when Somalia's al Shabaab Islamist militant group drove a car packed with explosives at the gate of a hotel, a government official said.
    Blood and pieces of flesh were scattered around the site of the blast which targeted the Jazeera hotel. The wreckage of four cars were nearby.
    Al Shabaab, which said it was behind the blast, frequently launches bomb and gun attacks in the capital in its bid to topple Somalia's Western-backed government. The nation is trying to rebuild after two decades of conflict and chaos.
    AMISOM, the African Union's force in Somalia, has been battling the Islamist rebels with the Somali army. Al Shabaab has been pushed into increasingly smaller pockets of territory by a military offensive this year.
    Somalia Security Minister had earlier told Reuters Television that five people were killed and four others were injured, the number of those dead has since risen to thirteen.
    "Five people died outside this hotel when the suicide truck struck. Four others were wounded inside the hotel. Investigations are ongoing," said Somalia Security Minister Mohamed Yusuf.
    Witnesses said a suicide car bomb rammed the gates of the hotel, damaging the facade.
    Jazeera hotel has been targeted on previous occasions. The blast sent a plume of smoke rising above the coastal capital. Sporadic gunfire was heard shortly after the attack.
    Al Shabaab, which wants to impose its strict interpretation of Islam on Somalia, killed a lawmaker, his bodyguard and an official from the prime minister's office on two attacks on Saturday (July 25).
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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