Six civilians were killed and ten were injured in a six-hour siege at a beachside hotel in Somalia’s capital Mogadishu by Islamist Al-Shabaab militants, authorities said Saturday. For more than 15 years, Al-Qaeda-linked terrorists have waged an insurgency against the internationally supported federal government, frequently targeting hotels that house high-ranking Somali and foreign officials. The incident, claimed by Al-Shabaab, began shortly before 8 p.m. on Friday (1700 GMT), when seven gunmen rushed the Pearl Beach hotel, a popular resort at Lido Beach along Mogadishu’s coastline.
According to authorities, it concluded around 2 a.m. following a ferocious gunfire between security officers and militants, all of whom were slain during the conflict. The incident on Lido Beach highlighted the country’s persistent security difficulties as it works to recover from decades of strife and natural calamities. Al-Shabaab, which was forced out of Somalia’s major towns and cities by an African Union force, nonetheless controls wide swaths of countryside and continues to strike security and civilian targets, including the capital.
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