Published: Just now
Gunmen have attacked a hotel in Somalia’s capital, Mogadishu, the East African country’s police report. It is still unclear how many victims were claimed in the attack.
The hotel – Villa Rose – and its restaurant are often visited by members of the country’s government.
The extremist jihadist group al-Shabaab has announced via a radio frequency that the group uses as a propaganda channel that it is behind the attack.
Many people have been rescued from the hotel and security forces have launched an operation to remove the attackers, police spokesman Sadik Dodishe told state media.
No information about dead or injured has yet been published.
Villa Rosa is located near the Presidential Palace.
For 15 years, al-Shabaab has tried to overthrow the country’s government to establish an Islamic state based on its most extreme teachings. The group was driven out of the capital in 2011 with the help of an African Union (AU) force, but it still controls parts of the countryside and continues to carry out deadly attacks on both civilian and military targets.
At the end of October, two car bombings were carried out at a heavily trafficked intersection and at least 120 people lost their lives.