At least nine people got killed while 60 was rescued by the Somali forces on Monday who were still trying to flush out armed assailants who attacked a hotel in the capital Mogadishu, killing.
There were reports of sporadic gunfire on Monday ,hours after the attack on the Villa Rose hotel started which is likely to raise the death toll.
However,Islamic extremist group al-Shabab claimed responsibility for the attack.A police spokesman said Sunday that scores of people, including government officials, had been rescued from the hotel.
A resident identified as Mohamed Suleyman stated that two of his relatives, both civilians, died in the attack.“It’s a great sadness to learn that two of my relatives were among those killed in yesterday night’s attack,” he said.
“We were informed by their colleagues who managed to escape the attack after jumping (over the perimeter) wall of the hotel.” Ali Moalim, another Mogadishu resident, said he saw “two bodies of the security forces carried by their fellow soldiers.
On a broadcast,Al-Shabab voiced that its fighters attacked the hotel, which has a restaurant popular with government and security officials.The attack is believed to have started with an explosion before gunmen penetrated the hotel’s gates. The hotel is not far from the presidential palace, Villa Somalia, in one of the most protected parts of central Mogadishu.
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