Somalia: Somali forces free hotel from al-Shabaab militants, at least 9 dead
Somali security forces have stormed a hotel in Mogadishu, ending an occupation by al-Shabaab militants after a nearly daylong battle in which at least nine people were killed.
Gunfire crackled from inside the building as the special forces fought the militants more than 12 hours after the Islamist group stormed the building in the centre of the city.
The assault underscores the continuing ability of the al-Qaida-allied militants to stage deadly attacks with sometimes high casualties inside the capital even as President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud’s government presses an offensive against them.
“The operation at the hotel Rosa has been concluded,” Sadik Aden Ali, a police spokesperson said.