Mogadishu:

Three people were killed in an hours-long siege by al-Shabab jihadists at a popular hotel near the presidential palace in Somalia’s capital, Mogadishu, police said on Friday.

Security forces announced on Friday that they had the situation under control after more than 13 hours after militants stormed the SYL Hotel in a hail of gunfire late Thursday.

“The attack killed three people and injured 27 others, including 18 civilians and nine soldiers,” Somali police spokesman Colonel Qasim Ahmed Roble told a news conference, adding , the number of injured included three MPs.

Security forces also killed five attackers in a gunbattle, he added.

“The situation at the hotel is now back to normal,” Roble said.

The attack on the SYL hotel, which has been targeted several times in the past, occurred at the start of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.

It broke the relative calm in violence against the al-Qaeda-linked jihadist group and showed that the group remains capable of striking despite a massive military offensive against militants.

“Several gunmen destroyed the wall with violent explosions and then forced their way into the building,” security official Ahmed Dahir told AFP.

Witnesses reported hearing the attackers firing indiscriminately.

“I don’t know the casualties, but there were a lot of people inside when the attack started,” said Hassan Noor, who escaped by climbing over a wall.

Other witnesses said police arrived at the hotel within minutes of the attack, sparking a fierce shootout.

Abdullahi Hassan, who lives in a nearby house, said police arrived in multiple vehicles and ambulances took away the injured.

“Positive and resilient”

The same hotel has been attacked by al-Shabaab several times, most recently in 2019, killing five people.

SYL is located near the Government Buildings at Villa Somalia, a high-security area that includes the Presidential Palace, Prime Minister’s Office and ministry buildings.

“This is a very serious attack that shatters the sense of calm that has developed in Mogadishu in recent months following some security reforms,” ​​said Omar Mahmoud, senior analyst at the International Crisis Group (ICG). noted that al-Shabaab has seen an increase in attacks during Ramadan in the past.

“It is also a signal from al-Shabaab that despite the current government’s efforts to weaken al-Shabaab, the group remains active and resilient, even capable of striking a blow against the government.”

Jihadists have been waging a war against the federal government for more than 16 years, often targeting hotels that often host senior Somali and foreign officials.

Although al-Shabaab was driven out of the capital by African Union forces, it remains a strong presence in rural Somalia and has launched numerous attacks on political, security and civilian targets.

The embattled central government joined forces with local tribal militias in August 2022 to launch a major offensive against the Islamists.

Troops and militias known as “macawisley” have recaptured large swaths of territory in central Somalia, supported by the African Union’s ATMIS mission and US airstrikes.

But the offensive has suffered setbacks, with al-Shabab earlier this week claiming to have taken control of several locations in the center of the country.

“Unwavering determination”

President Hassan Sheikh Mohammed met with defense officials at a “strategic meeting” on Thursday to develop plans to regain lost territory, Somalia’s state news agency SONNA reported.

“The president commended the heroic efforts of the Somali military and emphasized the government’s firm determination to eradicate terrorism,” the statement said.

In January, Al-Shabaab took several people hostage after a United Nations helicopter with nine passengers on board made an emergency landing in Al-Shabaab territory.

Last June, six civilians were killed in a six-hour siege at a beachfront hotel in Mogadishu.

In August 2022, the Hayat Hotel in Mogadishu suffered a 30-hour siege, resulting in 21 deaths and more than 100 injuries.

In October 2022, two car bombings occurred in Mogadishu, killing 100 people. This was the worst attack since Mohammed took office in May of that year.

Thursday’s attack came days after the United States imposed sanctions on 16 individuals and entities in the Horn of Africa and the Middle East, accusing them of laundering money for al-Shabab.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)