Somalia: Continued siege after car explosion at hotel gate in Mogadishu

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A car bomb exploded at the gate of the African hotel and was followed by gunfire heard inside, Somali police captain Ahmed Hassan told CNN. The incident occurred around 5:00 p.m. local time (9:00 a.m.ET), Hassan added.

Armed men from Al-Qaeda branch Al-Shabaab were allowed access to the building after the car bomb detonated at the gate, he said.

Police say an operation is underway to rescue people from the hotel. At the moment it is unclear whether there will be any casualties.

The reason for the attack is also unclear, but Hassan said there was a top military commander in the hotel at the time of the attack. Other senior military officials and lawmakers were also at the hotel, Hassan said.

The hotel is frequented by MPs, politicians and security officials, but not by foreigners.

People fleeing when gunshots are heard on a street near the Afrik hotel in Mogadishu

Outside the hotel is the main security checkpoint to the airport and Halane base, which is home to Western missions, including the US Embassy.

Al-Shabaab has claimed responsibility for the attack through a statement broadcast by Andalus Radio, the mouthpiece channel. CNN has not been able to independently verify this claim.

The Islamist insurgent group wants to turn Somalia into a fundamentalist Islamic state, according to the Council on Foreign Relations.
It claimed responsibility for a truck bombing outside Mogadishu in December that killed 85 people, including two Turkish civilians.
Another terror attack at a hotel in Kismayo, Jubaland state, Somalia, in July, killed more than 26 people, including journalists and local government officials.
US forces begin to leave Somalia
The militant group also said it was behind a triple car bomb attack at a hotel in Mogadishu that killed at least 52 people and injured 100 in November 2018.
US forces stationed in Somalia began their withdrawal from the country in December and were diverted to other bases in East Africa.

US forces in Somalia mainly train and advise local Somali forces in the fight against Al-Shabaab. The US military is also conducting air strikes against the group and the local ISIS branch in the country, killing a top al-Shabaab leader in a targeted attack in September.

Former US President Donald Trump ordered the majority of US troops to leave Somalia “by early 2021,” in just one of the most important military policy decisions taken in the closing days of his administration.

Omar Nor reported from Mogadishu and Radina Gigova wrote from Atlanta, Georgia.

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