Death toll in Somalia hotel siege by al-Shabab jihadists climbs to 21
- The gun and bomb attack on the Hayat hotel caused parts of the building to collapse, with many people feared trapped inside since the assault began on Friday
- The Mogadishu hotel was a popular meeting spot for government officials and scores of people were inside when a suicide bomber triggered an explosion
The death toll from a devastating 30-hour siege by al-Shabab jihadists at a hotel in Somalia’s capital Mogadishu has climbed to 21, Health Minister Ali Haji Adan said on Sunday, as anxious citizens awaited news of missing relatives.
The gun and bomb attack by the al-Qaeda-linked group on the popular Hayat hotel caused parts of the building to collapse, with many people feared trapped inside since the assault began on Friday evening.
“The ministry of health has so far confirmed the deaths of 21 people and 117 people wounded,” 15 of them seriously, Adan said.
Emergency workers and bomb disposal experts made their way through the heavily damaged hotel on Sunday, looking for any explosives and removing rubble as security forces patrolled the area.
Police commissioner Abdi Hassan Mohamed Hijar told reporters on Sunday that “106 people including children and women” had been rescued during the siege, which ended around midnight.
As bullets and flames ripped through the hotel, security forces searched the property to bring civilians to safety, including three young children who hid inside a toilet.
“The casualties mostly happened in the early hours of the attack, after that security forces spent time rescuing people individually and room by room,” Hijar said.
