The death toll from Somalia’s Kismayu hotel attack on Friday has risen to 26, including Kenyans, Americans, a Briton and Tanzanians, Jubbaland region’s president said on Saturday.
According to a statement released by Jubaland president Ahmed Mohamed, a presidential candidate for upcoming regional elections was also killed in the attack.
Islamist militant group al-Shabaab – linked to al-Qaeda – quickly claimed the attack, terming it a suicide attack.
“First, we targeted [the hotel] with a suicide car bomb and then armed ‘mujahideen’ (fighters) stormed the hotel. We are still fighting inside the hotel,” said Abdiasis Abu Musab, al-Shabab’s military operation spokesman.
Kismayu is the commercial capital of Jubbaland, a region of southern Somalia still partly controlled by al Shabaab. It remains a major security threat, with fighters frequently carrying out bombings in Somalia and neighboring Kenya, whose troops form part of the African Union-mandated peacekeeping force that helps defend the Somali government.
