Al Qaeda-linked group Al-Shabab claims deadly hotel attack in Somalia

Al-Shabab frequently targets hotels and other public places often visited by government officials and foreigners. Al Qaeda’s East African affiliate is fighting to impose a strict version of Islam in the Horn of Africa nation.
In June, gunmen stormed the Nasa-Hablod hotel, killing at least 14 people. Two weeks before that, gunmen killed 15, including two members of parliament, at the Ambassador hotel.

Despite being ousted from most of its key strongholds, al-Shabab continues to carry out deadly guerrilla attacks across large parts of south and central Somalia.

In March, 2016, the Pentagon said a U.S. airstrike hit an al-Shabab training camp in Somalia as militants prepared to launch a large-scale attack.

CBS News correspondent David Martin said, according to Pentagon officials, the fighters were in the final stages of planning an attack against the African Union Mission in Somalia, which includes U.S. personnel.

Earlier this month, a bomb explosion at a restaurant in Mogadishu killed three, and a suicide bomber detonated an explosives-laden vehicle at a security checkpoint near Mogadishu’s international airport, killing at least three. That blast occurred a few hundred yards from the main base of the African Union peacekeeping mission.

Al-Shabab’s assaults have threatened this nation’s attempts to rebuild from decades of chaos. The presidential election, a key step toward recovery, already has been delayed several times because of security and other concerns.

Source: /CBS News