Al Shabaab attack on Mogadishu hotel kills 16

At least 16 people were killed in an attack on Sunday by the Islamist group al Shabaab on a seaside hotel in Somalia's capital Mogadishu, according to government spokesman Ismail Mukhtar Omar. The toll includes 11 victims and five assailants, Omar said in a Tweet late on Sunday. "Security forces lost one, 18 people were injured," Omar said. Militants stormed the high-end Elite Hotel in Lido beach, detonated a car bomb and then opened fire with assault rifles, the latest attack by al Shabaab, which has been battling the country's central government since 2008. The hotel is owned by Abdullahi Mohamed Nor, a lawmaker and former finance minister, and is frequented by government officials and members of the Somali diaspora.

Tap here to add The Daily Star as a trusted source