An Islamist attack on a hotel in the Somali capital, Mogadishu has killed 25 people, leaving several others injured.
Speaking to Reuters, police officer Major Mohamed Hussein said that the death toll has risen to 25 people including police, hotel guards and residents. He added that the death toll number may rise.
“We suspect some other militants disguised themselves and escaped with the residents who were rescued.” he further said.
According to Hussein, three suspects were captured alive, while two others blew themselves up after they were shot.
The al-Shabab extremist group quickly claimed responsibility for Saturday’s attack and said its fighters were inside the hotel.
The explosion destroyed the front of the three-storey hotel and a next door hotel was also damaged.
Al Shabaab wants to overthrow the weak, U.N.-backed government and impose a strict form of Islamic law.
Saturday’s blasts came two weeks after more than 350 people were killed in a massive truck bombing on a busy Mogadishu street in the country’s worst-ever attack.
Since the blast two weeks ago, President Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed has visited regional countries to seek more support for the fight against the extremist group, vowing a “state of war.”
