Mogadishu Hotel Besieged by al-Shabaab

Islamic terrorist group, al-Shabaab, attacked a Mogadishu hotel on Wednesday, June 1st. The attack consisted of a car bomb, quickly followed by an assault inside the hostel. Somali government forces stated that after the bombing, firefights between police and the Islamic militants occurred across various rooms and floors of the building.

A witness told Reuters the gun fight came to an end when the last terrorist fell from the fifth story of the bombarded building. Somali authorities listed the final death toll at sixteen, while another 55 were injured in the attack.

Despite being known as a prominent spot for politicians, Hotel Ambassador was mostly surrounded by civilians during the attack; however, the attacks did manage to claim the lives of two lawmakers, a point of operational success claimed by al-Shabaab leader, Abu Musab.

Terrorist attacks such as these are not uncommon for al-Shabaab. Since being forced out of Somalia’s capital between 2011 and 2013, al-Shabaab has conducted a number of radical assaults on civilian areas and some governmental buildings. In February of 2014, the group used car bombs to attach the presidential palace, Villa Somalia.

Al-Shabaab is also known to have conducted operations outside of Somali borders in attempts to influence more people in Eastern Africa. In June of 2014, the group was thought to have attacked a Mpeketoni tourist site in Kenya which lead to around fifty deaths and many more injured. Other attacks include a Djibouti mall and, most recently, a Kenyan university in 2015.

Wednesday’s attack was likely an attempt to capture the attention and demonstrate the group’s capability as it faces a recruiting challenge from the increasingly popular Islamic State.

In recent months, al-Shabaab’s power has been dwindled at the hands of multiple strikes carried out in a  coordinated effort by the United States, African Union forces and the Somali military. Successes of these attacks can bee viewed when in March, the United States eliminated 150 al-Shabaab fighters after engaging in an airstrike on one of the group’s training camps.

Most recently, Pentagon Press Secretary Peter Cook confirmed that U.S. forces carried out an airstrike in south-central Somalia in late May that managed to kill Abdulahi Jahi Da’ud, a senior military commander for the sub-Saharan African terror group.

Efforts to limit and remove Shabaab have occurred in the past few years with limited success. A number of strikes on key Shabaab military figures aimed to quell lat year’s accomplishments in the south of the country. Still, the terrorist organization’s ability to conduct attacks both in civilian areas and against political figures remains undiminished while the attention and notoriety gained from these attacks further demonstrates the terrorist group ability to downplay governmental security in East Sub-Saharan Africa.