Al-Shabab Claims Hotel Attack in Mogadishu

On November 1, 2015, five armed jihadists entered the Sahafi (Journalist) Hotel in Mogadishu. Medical and police officials confirmed the attack left 15 dead and dozens more wounded. Al-Shabab claimed the attack through their radio station in Somalia.

Among those killed included parliamentary member Mohamed Abdi Abtidoon and former General Abdikarim Yusuf Dhagabadan. Somalia’s military commander, General Gacma Duule, and Somalia’s ambassador to Ethiopia, Haji Adam, were injured in the attack. The Shahfi Hotel is a popular destination for Somalian members of parliament and diplomats.

The attack began at daybreak, when a suicide bomber detonated a car bomb at the main gate of the hotel. Four men carrying AK-47 rifles, rocket propelled grenades, and suicide vests entered the premises.

Some of the attackers moved to the roof to fight against government soldiers responding to the attack. Witnesses confirmed a second explosion came from a subsequent car bomb. Al-Shabab called the attack “a powerful blow” saying no safe haven exists for Somali leaders and their African Union allies.

Somali troops along with African Union forces fought to regain control of the hotel according to a Twitter post. They secured the hotel around midday killing the attackers.

Al-Shabaab has had a well-documented history attacking hotels visited by foreign diplomats and government officials. In late March of this year, the Maku-Mukarramah Hotel in Mogadishu was attacked. Four gunmen stormed the hotel after a car bomb was detonated. The death toll amounted to 21 including Somalia’s ambassador to Switzerland.

The attack on the Sahafi Hotel mirrors the attack on the Jazeera Palace Hotel. On July 26, 2015, a car with a suicide bomber inside drove into the gates of the Jazeera Palace Hotel killing 13 and injuring more than 40 in subsequent explosion. The hotel was a popular destination for international diplomats. Those killed included a Chinese embassy worker.

The African Union has deployed forces to reinforce the Somali government to help counter al-Shabab’s insurgency. In 2006, al-Shabab took control over the southern part of Somalia. Despite their defeat by Somali and Ethiopian forces in 2007, the jihadist group has continued to carry out terrorist attacks in southern and central Somalia.