MOGADISHU— Somali security forces have ended a siege by Al-Shabaab militants who attacked a hotel in Mogadishu overnight, a police spokesman said.
At least eight civilians, six soldiers and one militant were killed in the siege, according to police. Authorities said they managed to rescue 60 people.
Security forces were trying to flush out the armed assailants from the hotel, police spokesperson Sadik Dodishe told state media.
He added that scores of people were rescued from the Villa Rose hotel, which is located near the presidential palace in the capital’s secure central area.
The hotel was popular with government and security officials.
The attack comes amid a new offensive by the Somali government against the terror group, which controls large parts of central and southern Somalia.
Despite being weakened by the counterterrorism efforts of the African Union-led peacekeeping mission, al-Shabaab regularly carries out attacks in Somalia.
Last month at least 120 people were killed in two car bombings at a busy junction in Mogadishu.
According to the UN, more than 613 civilians have been killed and more than 940 injured in violence this year in Somalia, mostly caused by improvised explosive devices (IEDs) attributed to al-Shabaab.
Source: NAM NEWS NETWORK