The police statement published on Saturday said 10 other people were wounded while 84 people were rescued from the hourslong assault that ended early Saturday morning. The extremist group is known for carrying out attacks on hotels and other high-profile locations in Mogadishu, usually starting with a suicide bombing. Witnesses had told The Associated Press that some people were trapped inside the Pearl Beach hotel, which is popular with government officials. Abdulkadir Adan, the director of Amin Ambulance service, said that "what occurred last night was quite tragic as it occurred in an unexpected setting and at an unexpected time.
It ended at around am, police said, after a fierce gunfight between security forces and the militants, all of whom were killed during the battle. Yaasin Nur was at the restaurant and told AFP it was "full of people as it was recently renovated".
Last year was the deadliest for civilians in Somalia since after the Islamist Al-Shabaab group stepped up its insurgency, the UN's Secretary-General Antonio Guterres stated in a report unveiled last February.
Between September and February , the UN mission in Somalia recorded a more than percent increase in the number of civilian casualties, to 1, including dead, most of them attributed to Al-Shabaab, he said.
Welcome to Africanews Please select your experience. Watch Live. Breaking News Close. News Six civilians killed in extremist attack in Mogadishu beachside hotel. Related articles. From the same country. On the same subject. More stories. Democratic Republic Of Congo. Gaza City. By using this website, you agree with our use of cookies to improve its performance and enhance your user experience. More info in our Cookies policy page.
