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14 killed in hotel attack in Somalia's capital

 
Published June 26, 2016

MOGADISHU, Somalia — Gunmen stormed a hotel in Somalia's seaside capital Saturday, taking guests hostage and "shooting at everyone they could see," before security forces pursued the grenade-throwing assailants to the top floor and ended the hourslong assault, police and witnesses said. At least 14 people were killed.

Islamic extremist group al-Shabab claimed responsibility for the latest in a series of hotel attacks in Mogadishu, one that began with a powerful explosion at the entry gate.

"We have finally ended the siege. The last remaining militants were killed on the top floor," police Capt. Mohamed Hussein said after security forces cornered the gunmen, who had set up sniper posts on the roof of the Nasa-Hablod hotel. Police said at least four gunmen were involved in the attack, and two were killed.

"We have so far confirmed the deaths of 14 people. Some of them died in the hospitals," Hussein said. The deaths included women who were selling khat, a stimulant leaf popular with Somali men, outside the hotel, he said.

Security forces rescued most of the hostages; it was not clear whether any were killed. Police and medical workers said another nine people were wounded in the assault.

Al-Shabab, which is based in Somalia and linked to al-Qaida, has been waging a deadly insurgency across large parts of Somalia and often employs suicide car bomb attacks to penetrate heavily fortified targets in Mogadishu and elsewhere.

In early June, an overnight siege by extremist gunmen at another hotel in the capital killed least 15 people, including two members of parliament. Al-Shabab claimed responsibility for that attack.