Nairobi, January 31 Mogadishu news: Armed members of the extremist group Al-Shabaab in Somalia attacked a hotel in the Somali capital Mogadishu on the 31st, killing at least five people and injuring many others.
An anonymous Somali police officer told Xinhua News Agency that the attack occurred at about 5 p.m. local time.
A group of armed men carried out a suicide car bomb attack at the entrance of the Afrique Hotel in Mogadishu, then rushed into the hotel and shot, and exchanged fire with government soldiers who followed.
The police officer said that the exchange of fire was still going on, and five people were confirmed dead and many injured, and the number of casualties may rise further.
Eyewitness Ali Abdi said that a loud noise was heard at the time of the incident, smoke rose from the entrance of the hotel, and government soldiers then exchanged fire with the armed men.
Somali “Al-Shabaab” has announced the attack, saying that it is targeting Somali government officials who are meeting in hotels.
Somali Al-Shabaab is an extremist organization affiliated with Al-Qaeda.
In recent years, it has launched many terrorist attacks in Somalia and its neighboring countries.
