Previous reports said that armed militants wearing police uniform had attacked Hotel Syl in Mogadishu. The attack culminated in a shootout between militants and local security forces. Two members of parliament and a former Somalian interior minister were injured in the attack, local broadcaster Dalsan reported.
The militants of the Al-Shabab radical group claimed responsibility for the attack.
"We heard the sound of fire and when we came, we learned five militants broke into the hotel but our forces are now fighting them inside the hotel. We can confirm four people were killed in the attack and six others injured, the death toll could rise as many people were inside the hotel including members of parliament", the source said as quoted by the media outlet.
The media outlet said, citing Zakia Hussein, deputy commissioner of the Somali Police Force, that two attackers had been killed outside the hotel, while others continued shooting inside. Over 100 people have been evacuated.
Two explosions just heard in SYL hotel. Also received this video from the scene. #MogadishuSYLattack pic.twitter.com/ZxPoTlVrl3
— Harun Maruf (@HarunMaruf) December 10, 2019
Somalia has been engulfed in violence since the eruption of a civil war between clan-based armed groups in the early 1990s. The situation has been further complicated by Al-Shabaab militants, who are staging numerous attacks across the country in an attempt to impose a radical version of Sharia law in the country.
The US military have been cooperating closely with the Somali authorities in targeting terrorists. In September, US forces killed 10 Al-Shabab militants in retaliatory airstrikes.
