Mogadishu Hotel Siege Ends, Dozens Killed

A hotel siege by al-Shabaab fighters in the Somali capital, Mogadishu has ended, and the final death toll from the attack stands at 28, a senior government official said on Friday.

Al-Shabaab fighters blasted and shot their way into the popular Hotel Maka Al Mukaram on Thursday afternoon, trapping many government officials.

A police officer who spoke to the news agencies has confirmed that the security forces have neutralized the attackers.

Capt. Mohamed Hussein said the area had been secured and the forces are carrying out operations to clear the rubble and search for bodies of the attackers in different rooms.

According to witnesses, women and youth volunteers have begun to clean, and all the streets are opened, business returned to normal.

Earlier, Somali Information Minister Dahir Mohamud Gelle condemned the attack saying the government is on the heel of the perpetrators of the raid.

Gelle said government forces have been avoiding to harm civilians trapped in the area many of whom were rescued this morning leading the operation against the attackers to take a long time.

“They’ll be captured or killed, and the forces have been operating on the directive to rescue the hostages, not to harm the unarmed civilians in the area,” he said.

Al-Shabab’s military spokesman said they still control the hotel.

“The government tried three times to enter the building, but we repulsed them. We still control the hotel,” Abdiasis Abu Musab, al-Shabab’s military spokesman, told Reuters.