Militants from the Islamist al-Shabab group have attacked a hotel near the presidential palace in Somalia’s capital Mogadishu, security sources and witnesses said.<\/p>\n
The group has attacked the Syl Hotel before, which is popular with government officials.<\/p>\n
Witnesses reported blasts and gunfire coming from the hotel, telling Reuters that fighters were still inside.<\/p>\n
It was not immediately clear if there were casualties.<\/p>\n
“The armed Mujahideen control the hotel and are shooting workers and officers” of the government in the hotel, al-Shabab said in a statement claiming responsibility for the attack.<\/p>\n
Resident Farah Ali, who lives near the president’s office, told Reuters: “We first heard a huge blast, and then gunfire followed. We understand the fighters are inside [the hotel] for we hear exchange of gunfire.”<\/p>\n
“Several gunmen forced their way into the building after destroying the perimeter wall with a heavy explosion,” a security officer told AFP.<\/p>\n
Hassan Nur, who escaped by scaling a wall, said: “I don’t know about the casualties but there were many people inside when the attack started.”<\/p>\n
Other witnesses reported seeing police arriving within minutes of the attack, which triggered a gun battle with militants.<\/p>\n
Attacks had reduced in recent weeks amid heightened security after the government intensified its military offensive against the Islamist group.<\/p>\n
Al-Shabab controls large parts of southern and central Somalia.<\/p>\n
The group is affiliated to al-Qaeda and has waged a brutal insurgency for nearly 20 years against the UN-backed government in Somalia.<\/p>\n
Somalia President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud on Thursday met defence officials to plan how to reclaim lost territory, Somalia’s national news agency Sonna reported.<\/p>\n
It is a proscribed terrorist group by countries including the UK and US. The US has intervened militarily to fight against the group.<\/p>\n
Its fighters are known for targeting hotels, including the Syl Hotel in 2019.<\/p>\n
In 2022, the group stormed the Villa Rays hotel in the capital<\/a>, killing at least 14 people.<\/p>\n Three years before the storming of the Villa Rays hotel, at least 26 people, including a prominent journalist and several foreigners, were killed in an attack on the Asasey hotel in the port of Kismayo<\/a>, southern Somalia.<\/p>\n