The Somali President, Hassan Sheikh Mohamud, has condemned the suicide bombing of a Mogadishu hotel by terrorists belonging to the Al Shabaab group in the strongest possible words and vowed to carry on with fight against terrorism. A devastating twin suicide strike on a hotel in the Somali capital city had earlier left behind 10 dead and more than 20 injured.
The casualties included government officials. Deputy Prime Minister Mohamed Omar Arte and Transport and Aviation Minister Ali Ahmed Jama Jangali were among those wounded while the dead included Mogadishu’s deputy mayor, Mohamed Aden Guled, and local official and author Abdishakur Mire Aden.
The lawmakers and government officials had gathered at the hotel to hold Friday prayers when a suicide bomber rammed a vehicle loaded with explosives into the outside gate. Later, a second suicide bomber attacked inside the compound, according to news reports.
Witnesses said the first explosion occurred just after guests finished midday prayers at the Central Hotel near the coastal city’s National Theater. A second explosion followed, and then came gunfire.
Al-Shabab claimed responsibility for the attack.
A statement read on behalf of the Somali President said he was “very sorry and shocked that terrorist groups have once again targeted innocent Muslim people” as they prayed.
The leader also pledged Somalia’s government “will continue fighting terrorism until we completely eliminate it. I am sure this attack proves the hypocrisy of the terrorist group who claim to be acting in the name of religion, while carrying out acts that are completely un-Islamic.”
The attack comes at a time when the country of Somalia, which has been ravaged after decades of civil war, has just started showing signs of stabilizing. The Al Shabaab group, which has recently suffered a series of crucial setbacks by losing control over key towns and top leadership as a result of U.S. airstrikes, continues to target government buildings, restaurants, cafes and hotels where officials and journalists meet.
The deadly twin attacks come after the authorities had launched massive operations in the capital city of Mogadishu following assassination of government officials.