Al-Shabaab attacked a hotel in the capital of Somalia and injured political and military officials

Security sources and witnesses confirmed that militants of the Al-Shabaab terrorist group attacked a famous hotel near the presidential palace in Mogadishu, the capital of Somalia, on Thursday evening.

The attack, claimed by al-Shabaab, began around 9:45 PM (1845 GMT) when gunmen stormed the SYL Hotel and opened fire.

Agence France-Presse quoted security officer Ahmad Dehir as saying: After destroying the perimeter wall with a strong explosion, some armed men entered the building by force.

It is not yet known if there were any casualties in this incident. But the Mogadishu 24 news portal reported that Faisal Aral, Secretary General of Mogadishu Municipality, Hassan Ade, director of the SMS TV station, Farhan Muhammad Jamaleh, the spokesperson of the Somali government, the director general of the Somali Ministry of Justice, as well as the head of the police special forces unit and other soldiers, during this have been injured in the attack.

Hassan Noor, who escaped by climbing the wall, said: “I am not aware of the casualties, but there were many people inside when the attack started.

Other witnesses said that police officers arrived at the hotel a few minutes after the attack and there was an exchange of fire.

Al-Qaeda-linked terrorists have been waging an insurgency against the internationally recognized federal government for more than 16 years, often targeting hotels that host high-ranking Somali and foreign officials.

Thursday’s attack came days after the US Treasury sanctioned 16 individuals and entities across the Horn of Africa and the West Asia accused of laundering money for the al-Shabaab terrorist group.

Although the terrorists were pushed out of the capital by African Union forces, they are still present in rural Somalia and regularly carry out attacks against political and civilian targets, including in Mogadishu.

The central government launched a major offensive against the terrorist group in August 2022, joining forces with local tribal militias to retake parts of the territory. But despite the initial gains, the attack has failed.

Somalia’s national news agency SONA reported that Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud met with defense officials on Thursday in a “strategic meeting” to plan how to retake the lost territory.

In January, a number of people were taken hostage after a UN helicopter with nine passengers made an emergency landing in al-Shabaab-controlled territory.