Somalia security forces have successfully ended a militant attack on a hotel in the capital Mogadishu, eliminating all five assailants involved in the siege. Police spokesperson Kasim Roble confirmed that three soldiers lost their lives, and 27 individuals sustained injuries during the Thursday night assault on the SYL Hotel.
The hotel, located in a typically secure area near the presidential palace and frequented by government officials, came under attack by the al-Shabab extremist group. The militants claimed responsibility, stating that their fighters had penetrated the premises.
Following the conclusion of the operation, Roble stated that the situation had stabilized, and the hotel had been secured. Lawmakers and other residents began returning as normalcy was restored to the area.
While attacks in the seaside capital had decreased in recent weeks due to heightened security measures, al-Shabab, an al-Qaeda-affiliated group opposing Somalia’s central government, has been behind numerous deadly incidents targeting hotels and other locations in the past.
The latest major attack in Mogadishu occurred in October 2022, when twin car bombings at a busy intersection claimed the lives of at least 120 civilians.
Somalia’s government, under President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud, has launched a high-profile offensive against al-Shabab, which the United States has designated as one of al-Qaeda’s most lethal organizations. Mohamud has declared “total war” against the extremists, who control substantial territories in central and southern Somalia and have faced numerous U.S. airstrikes in recent years.
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In a career spanning three decades and counting, Ramananda (Ram to his friends) has been the foreign editor of The Telegraph, Outlook Magazine and the New Indian Express. He helped set up rediff.com’s editorial operations in San Jose and New York, helmed sify.com, and was the founder editor of India.com.
His work has featured in national and international publications like the Al Jazeera Centre for Studies, Global Times and Ashahi Shimbun. But his one constant over all these years, he says, has been the attempt to understand rising India’s place in the world.
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