Mogadishu (Al-Ittihad, agencies)
Al-Shabaab militants attacked a hotel in the Somali capital. This came as the Somali president pledged to eliminate the terrorist movement throughout the country.
Residents and witnesses said that attackers in the Somali capital stormed a hotel near the president's office yesterday, after two explosions, with the Al-Shabaab movement linked to Al-Qaeda claiming responsibility for the attack.
Residents said gunfire followed explosions yesterday evening, when unidentified assailants stormed the Ciel Hotel, a popular place where government officials and lawmakers gather.
Farah Ali, who lives near the president's office, said: “We first heard a huge explosion, then gunfire followed. We knew that the fighters were inside the hotel, and we heard the exchange of gunfire.” An eyewitness also said that he heard a second explosion several minutes after the first explosion.
Hussein Abdullah, another resident, said that soldiers opened fire before the first explosion, and he heard the sound of a speeding car. He added: “Then gunfire ensued, a second explosion followed, and we heard an exchange of gunfire.”
Al-Shabaab claimed responsibility for the attack and siege of the Seal Hotel.
In 2019, the group claimed responsibility for attacking the same hotel.
In this context, Somali President Hassan Mohamud pledged yesterday to eliminate the terrorist Al-Shabaab movement throughout the country.
During a meeting with senior security and military officials at the police headquarters in Mogadishu, he discussed accelerating operations to liberate the country from terrorist militias. The President listened to a detailed explanation from the relevant officials, and at the same time called for tightening the security of the capital and confronting everything that would harm public security. . He stressed that the government is committed to eliminating the Al-Shabaab movement throughout the country.
For years, the Somali government has been waging a war against the Al-Shabaab movement, which was established in early 2004 and is affiliated with Al-Qaeda. It claimed responsibility for bombings that claimed the lives of civilians and members of the army and police.
Al-Shabaab was expelled from major cities between 2011 and 2012.
The Somali army has intensified its military operations in recent days, in anticipation of the start of a new round of the military campaign against the Al-Shabaab movement in the southern regions, after weakening its field and military strength in the center of the country.
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