A suicide car bomb exploded outside a popular hotel killed at least 13 people and injured more than 16, police said.
Bomb exploded outside a hotel in Somalia’s capital today .Captain Mohamed Hussein said the gunfire was heard inside the Nasa-Hablod hotel, which is close to the presidential palace and is frequented by politicians and other members of Mogadishu’s elite.
A senior Somali police colonel and a former lawmaker were among the dead, Hussein said.
Today’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.
Al-Shabab, Africa’s deadliest Islamic extremist group, quickly claimed responsibility for Saturday’s attack and said its fighters were inside the hotel.
As night fell, sporadic gunfire could be heard around the hotel as both soldiers and ambulances responded to the attack.
Mohamed Dek Haji said he survived the bombing as he walked beside a parked car that was largely destroyed by the explosion. He said he saw at least three armed men in military uniforms running toward the hotel after the suicide bombing at its gate.
“I think they were al-Shabab fighters who were trying to storm the hotel,” he said, lying on a hospital bed. He suffered small injuries on his shoulder and skull from flying glass.
Witnesses in some previous attacks have said al-Shabab fighters disguised themselves by wearing military uniforms.
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