Security forces kill 15, end hotel siege in Mogadishu

Somali security forces said they have ended a 20-hour siege on a popular hotel in Mogadishu, the Somali capital , killing 15 people.

The deads included six attackers.

Sadiq Dudishe, Spokesman of the Somali Police Force said they shot dead five of the al-Shabab attackers.

Dudishe added that one of the attackers blew himself up after the militants stormed Villa Rosa Hotel in Mogadishu at around 8.00 p.m. on Sunday.

He said eight civilians and one soldier died and five statained injuries in the attack, condemned by the international community.

“Sixty people were safely rescued from the hotel,” he told a news conference in Mogadishu.

The fortified hotel is a popular hangout spot for senior government officials, including the business community.

Three ministers were inside the facility at the time of the attack, the Police said.

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It was unclear how the extremists stormed inside the hotel, which is near the presidential palace.

But witnesses said they first heard gunshots at the gates of the hotel before the attackers stormed inside.

Al-Shabab has waged nearly two decades of insurgency to topple the internationally-backed government.

It claimed responsibility for the latest attack, saying its fighters were targeting a gathering of officials inside the hotel.

The latest hotel assault is the third attack by the al-Shabab since the new government took over in May.

The militants 21 people at the Hayat hotel in a siege that lasted for 30 hours in August killed.

They also attack the Tawakal Hotel in the southern city of Kismayo in October where 11 people lost their lives.

The Villa Rosa Hotel attack came hours after the government announced that its forces killed more than 100 al-Shabab extremists in an operation backed by international partners.

Government forces had driven  Al-Shabab group out of Mogadishu in 2011.

But it is still capable of conducting attacks, targeting government installations, hotels, restaurants and public spaces. (Xinhua)