Headline :At least 13 dead in al Shabaab attack on Somali hotel.
The Somali militant Islamist group al Shabaab attacked a Mogadishu hotel on Sunday (July 26), driving a car packed with explosives through the hotel gate and killing at least 13 people, a first responder and the rebel group said.
A Reuters witness said blood and pieces of flesh were spattered around the site of the blast targeting the Jazeera hotel. Nearby was the wreckage of four cars.
An ambulance worker said rescuers had carried 13 bodies away from the scene and 21 others had been injured, some seriously.
A police officer told Reuters a suicide car bomb had rammed the gates of the hotel, damaging the facade.
The popular Jazeera hotel has been targeted on previous occasions.
Amateur video recorded by local resident Mohammed Kahiye showed a plume of smoke rising above the coastal capital. Sporadic gunfire was heard shortly after the attack.
Al Shabaab, which said it was behind the blast, frequently stages bomb and gun attacks in the capital in its bid to topple Somalia's Western-backed government. The nation is trying to rebuild after two decades of conflict and chaos.
The Somali militant Islamist group al Shabaab attacked a Mogadishu hotel on Sunday (July 26), driving a car packed with explosives through the hotel gate and killing at least 13 people, a first responder and the rebel group said.
A Reuters witness said blood and pieces of flesh were spattered around the site of the blast targeting the Jazeera hotel. Nearby was the wreckage of four cars.
An ambulance worker said rescuers had carried 13 bodies away from the scene and 21 others had been injured, some seriously.
A police officer told Reuters a suicide car bomb had rammed the gates of the hotel, damaging the facade.
The popular Jazeera hotel has been targeted on previous occasions.
Amateur video recorded by local resident Mohammed Kahiye showed a plume of smoke rising above the coastal capital. Sporadic gunfire was heard shortly after the attack.
Al Shabaab, which said it was behind the blast, frequently stages bomb and gun attacks in the capital in its bid to topple Somalia's Western-backed government. The nation is trying to rebuild after two decades of conflict and chaos.