Somalia ends deadly siege by Al Shabab terrorists at Hayat Hotel in capital Mogadishu that lasted about 30 hours, a security official says, claiming 'the gunmen are dead'
"Security forces have ended the siege now and the gunmen are dead," says a security official, after Al Shabab terrorists stormed Hayat Hotel, leaving some 20 people dead and sparking a 30-hour standoff with government forces.
"The security forces have ended the siege now and the gunmen are dead, we've had no incoming gunfire from the building in the past hour," a security commander told the AFP news agency late on Saturday on condition of anonymity. Security forces struck the building with heavy weapons, witness Salaad Ali said earlier on Saturday.
Unverified pictures posted online showed security officials walking through piles of rubble, with reports of widespread damage to the hotel.Al Shabab, which has been waging a deadly insurgency for 15 years against the fragile government in the Horn of Africa nation, has claimed responsibility. The Hayat Hotel is a popular venue with lawmakers and other government officials. There was no immediate information on whether any of them had been caught up in the siege.
Al-Shabaab wavs driven out of Mogadishu in 2011 by AU forces, but still controls swathes of countryside and is able to launch deadly strikes on political, civilian and military targets, with hotels and restaurants often hit.
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