(Washington Insider Magazine)-A hotel in the Somalia capital Mogadishu was recently stormed by an Islamist militant group that left at least 12 dead. This hotel attack was unexpected and a brutal event for family members and friends.
The hotel attack continued several days after the initial bombings. Though no more explosions have been reported, there have been heavy reports of gunfire.
The attackers denoted at least 2 deadly bombs. So far, 12 people have been reported dead from the hotel bombings, and at least 40 people were left wounded. These numbers were confirmed by doctors working at one of the key trauma hospitals in the country’s capital.
Though dozens of staff and guests have been rescued from the hotel, there are still people trapped in the hotel, and local medics, police, and firefighters are on standby to help retrieve those in the hotel. Dead bodies have also been found inside the building.
Officials are finding it hard to assess the scale of the attack, and no one can safely get inside the hotel. Any information they receive is from reports of civilians who were near the hotel at the time.
According to a local police officer, the initial attack was started by the detonation of two car bombs, both of which hit the gate and barrier hotel.
Since the start of the attack on the hotel, there have been many reports from reporters and civilians who were near the hotel describing a big explosion near the hotel and smoke streaming from the Hayat Hotel. Civilians heard an estimated five explosions before the sound of gunfire broke.
Al-Shabab, affiliated with al-Queda, holds a lot of influence in Southern and Central parts of Somalia and is responsible for several other attacks in the country.
One of the attacks was carried out near the Somalia-Ethiopia border. The rise of attacks has left many concerned for the safety of civilians.
Al-Shabab has been in an ongoing conflict with the local government as they strive for more influence within the country, and many are speculating that the recent attacks are a change in strategy to gain more power over areas in the country that the government firmly controls.
Emergency services are on standby as they respond to calls from locals reporting their loved ones trapped inside the hotel.