BREAKING: Large explosion & gunfire heard in Mogadishu. #Somalia
— Live From Mogadishu (@Daudoo) March 27, 2015
Al-Shabab extremists reportedly fought their way into a popular Mogadishu hotel on Friday. Several government officials are reportedly trapped inside the complex.
The Daily Star reported:
Islamist gunmen fought their way into a popular hotel in the Somali capital Mogadishu on Friday, trapping government officials inside, police said.
The Somali Islamist militant group al-Shabab did not make any immediate comment but has regularly attacked hotels before.
“Al Shabaab fighters are on the top of the building and inside the hotel,” Major Ismail Olow, a police officer, told Reuters. “Some government officials are inside the hotel.”
At least 25 people were killed in February when an Islamic extremist rammed an explosives-laden vehicle into the gate of the Central Hotel in Mogadishu.