New Al-Shabaab attack in Somalia leaves dozens dead

Fourteen people have been killed in an attack by the jihadist group Al-Shabaab on a hotel in the Somali capital Mogadishu, Somali police spokesman Abdifatah Duudushe told reporters today. 

The attack began on Friday night and lasted about 15 hours after members of the Somali jihadist group forced their way into the Hayat Hotel building, which is frequented by politicians and government officials, and randomly shot civilians inside. 

Security sources told the press that a large number of civilians have been rescued from the hotel, including three children, according to local portal Goobjoog. 

Among the dead are the hotel owner and other businessmen. 

At least three explosions were heard near the Hayat Hotel on Friday night, an eyewitness told local media Garowe Online. 

In a statement, Al Shabab, a Somali group affiliated with Al Qaeda, claimed responsibility for the attack, saying its fighters committed suicide in the assault on the hotel. 

Al Shabab, a group affiliated since 2012 with the Al Qaeda network, frequently carries out terrorist attacks in the Somali capital, Mogadishu, and elsewhere in Somalia to overthrow the central government and forcibly establish an ultraconservative, Wahhabi-style Islamic state. 

Al Shabab controls parts of Somalia, especially rural areas in the centre and south, and attacks neighbouring nations such as Kenya. 

Somalia has been in a state of war and chaos since 1991, when dictator Mohamed Siad Barre was overthrown, leaving the country without effective government and in the hands of Islamist militias and warlords.