Six civilians were killed and 10 wounded in a six-hour siege by Al Shabab militants at a beachside hotel in Somalia's capital Mogadishu, police said on Saturday.
The attack on the Pearl Restaurant began on Friday evening.
“Six civilians were martyred in the attack … and 10 others were wounded. Three brave members of the security forces were martyred,” the Somali Police Force said, adding that 84 people were rescued from the premises.
Security forces “neutralised” rebels who carried out “the desperate terrorist attack on the Pearl Beach … in Mogadishu”, SNTV reported on Saturday.
It said security forces rescued “many civilians from inside the hotel” and had shot and killed attackers.
The Somali National News Agency posted photos of soldiers in the restaurant on Twitter. One stood next to a glass door with a bullet hole in it, while sandals and a dustpan lay nearby.
Hussein Mohamed, a waiter at another restaurant, told Reuters he heard an explosion followed by gunfire when the attack started.
“The whole area is cordoned off by security forces,” he said.
Abdikadir Abdirahman, the director of Aamin Ambulance Services, said they had so far treated seven people who had been wounded.
“The mujahideen managed to enter the Pearl beach and are still fully in control,” Al Shabab said earlier, claiming the attack.
In November, the group, which controls parts of the country, attacked another hotel in Mogadishu, killing nine people.
Al Shabab controlled a vast area of Somalia before being pushed back in government counteroffensives since last year, although they remain capable of launching significant attacks on government, commercial and military targets.
In late May, its fighters attacked a base housing Ugandan peacekeepers 130 kilometres south-west of Mogadishu, killing 54 soldiers.
Countdown to Zero exhibition will show how disease can be beaten
Countdown to Zero: Defeating Disease, an international multimedia exhibition created by the American Museum of National History in collaboration with The Carter Center, will open in Abu Dhabi a month before Reaching the Last Mile.
Opening on October 15 and running until November 15, the free exhibition opens at The Galleria mall on Al Maryah Island, and has already been seen at the Jimmy Carter Presidential Library and Museum in Atlanta, the American Museum of Natural History in New York, and the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine.
How to wear a kandura
Dos
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Key findings of Jenkins report
- Founder of the Muslim Brotherhood, Hassan al Banna, "accepted the political utility of violence"
- Views of key Muslim Brotherhood ideologue, Sayyid Qutb, have “consistently been understood” as permitting “the use of extreme violence in the pursuit of the perfect Islamic society” and “never been institutionally disowned” by the movement.
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Labour dispute
The insured employee may still file an ILOE claim even if a labour dispute is ongoing post termination, but the insurer may suspend or reject payment, until the courts resolve the dispute, especially if the reason for termination is contested. The outcome of the labour court proceedings can directly affect eligibility.
- Abdullah Ishnaneh, Partner, BSA Law
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