At least 9 dead in al-Shabaab attack on Somalia luxury hotel

At least nine people are dead after what police are calling a terrorist attack at a luxury resort in Mogadishu, Somalia, late on Friday.

Six civilians and three police officers were killed and ten others were injured in the attack at the Pearl Beach Hotel, the official Somali National News Agency reported.

Authorities said all seven militants from the Islamist extremist group al-Shabaab involved in the attack were slain.

Witnesses said two men wearing suicide vests detonated explosive devices near the entrance of the resort where hundreds of people had gathered around at 7:55 p.m. local time on Friday, according to China’s Xinhua news agency.

A seven-hour siege ensued as Somali security forces surrounded the site.

Officers said they were able to safely evacuate 84 people, including two children, from the hotel while the attack unfolded.

Last summer, Islamic militants targeted tourists at other hotels in the Somali capital. Twenty-one people were killed and more than 100 were wounded in August during a 30-hour siege at a separate resorts in Mogadishu.

Somalia President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud was elected last year and pledged a “total war” military campaign against al-Shabaab, which is affiliated with Al-Qaeda.

The Somali Army is fighting with the African Union Transitional Mission against al-Shabaab militants, who are seeking to overthrow the government and control areas in the southern and central parts of the country.

Source » msn