Shabaab Attacks Mogadishu Hotel, Killing 3

Three people were killed on Friday in an attack claimed by the Al-Shabaab militant group on a Mogdishu hotel amid reports of a hostage-taking situation inside the hotel building.



The attack began with the detonation of a car bomb at the rear entrance of central Mogadishu's Makkah al-Mukarama Hotel, which killed three people, including hotel guards, and seriously injured four others, an Anadolu Agency correspondent reported.



There have been conflicting reports of Al-Shabaab militants storming the hotel and taking hostages, including government officials, the reporter said.



Al-Shabaab later claimed responsibility for the attack in a statement posted on several of its affiliated websites.



Al-Shabaab had controlled much of central and southern Somalia for years, but recently lost ground to the African Union Mission to Somalia (AMISOM) and Somali army troops.



Nevertheless, the group has continued to launch deadly attacks on government officials and security personnel.



The Horn of Africa country has been in turmoil since the ouster of Siad Barre in 1991.



www.aa.com.tr/en - Banaadir