Somalia security forces end militant attack on hotel that killed 13

Somalia’s security forces on Saturday ended an overnight attack by the al Shabaab terrorist group on a hotel in the southern port city of Kismayu that killed at least 13, a police officer said.

Somalia’s security forces on Saturday ended an overnight attack by the al Shabaab terrorist group on a hotel in the southern port city of Kismayu that killed at least 13, a police officer said.

“The operation is over,” police officer Major Mohamed Abdi told Reuters by telephone from Kismayu.

“So far we know 13 people died. Many people have been rescued. The four attackers were shot dead.”

Members of the al-Qaeda linked group stormed the hotel after targeting it with a car bomb on Friday while local elders and lawmakers were meeting to discuss approaching regional elections.

A second witness put the death toll at 14.

“The operation was concluded at 7 a.m. We know at least 14 people died including journalists and (local election) candidates. These are the prominent people. The death toll is sure to rise,” local elder Ahmed Abdulle told Reuters.

Al Shabaab was ejected from Mogadishu in 2011 and has since been driven from most of its other strongholds.

Kismayu is the commercial capital of Jubbaland, a region of southern Somalia still partly controlled by al Shabaab.