MOGADISHU // At least 12 people were killed in the Somali capital on Sunday after Al Shabab gunmen used a vehicle packed with explosives to blast their way inside a hotel.
The Al Qaeda-linked Shabab claimed responsibility for the dawn attack at the Sahafi hotel, which is popular with members of parliament, government employees and businessmen.
Al Shabab said they were still fighting security forces, but African Union soldiers, battling alongside government troops, said they had taken control of the building.
“Attackers exploded a car bomb to gain entry before going inside … we have reports of 12 dead,” policeman Abdulrahid Dahir said.
Witnesses said they had seen several bodies of people killed in the initial blast, when a minibus packed with explosives was reportedly used to ram the gates of the hotel’s fortified compound, which was followed by a second heavy explosion.
Shebab commandos then stormed inside, with witnesses reporting intense gunfire and several loud blasts.
“There was a huge explosion and people around the entrance were killed,” said Mohamed Ismael, a witness, who was nearby when the attack began.
Shebab insurgents, who are fighting to overthrow the internationally backed government in Mogadishu, have carried out a string of attacks on hotels in the capital.
The Islamists have frequently used car bombs driven by suicide bombers to break into a complex or a building, with more attackers then following on foot.
Like other international hotels in Mogadishu, the Sahafi is heavily fortified.
It was the site of the kidnapping of two French security agents in 2009, one of whom later escaped while the other was killed by the Shebab during a failed rescue attempt in 2013.
Shebab spokesman Abdulaziz Abu Musab claimed the gunmen had overrun the hotel.
“The mujahideen fighters took control of the Sahafi hotel, where apostates and invading Christians were staying,” he said in a statement. “The mujahideen are carrying out operations inside the hotel after the takeover.”
But the African Union mission in Somalia, AMISOM, a 22,000-strong force fighting the Shebab, said they fought alongside government troops and had secured the hotel.
“Somalia government forces and AMISOM have taken control,” the AU force said in a statement.
Shebab attacks seek to counter claims that they are close to defeat after losing territory, and dealing with regular US drone strikes against their leaders.
The militants have also carried out a string of revenge strikes in neighbouring countries.
This week, Somalia president Hassan Sheikh Mohamud called on Shebab fighters to surrender amid reports some factions may have shifted allegiance from Al-Qaeda to the Islamic State group.
Mohamud said the reported divisions were “symptomatic of a group that has lost its way”, and warned that Somalis “do not need a new brand of horror and repression”.
* Agence France-Presse
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Starring: Nader Abd Alhay, Majd Eid, Ramzi Maqdisi
Directors: Tarzan and Arab Nasser
Rating: 4.5/5
List of alleged parties
May 12, 2020: PM and his wife Carrie attend 'work meeting' with at least 17 staff
May 20, 2020: They attend 'bring your own booze party'
Nov 27, 2020: PM gives speech at leaving party for his staff
Dec 10, 2020: Staff party held by then-education secretary Gavin Williamson
Dec 13, 2020: PM and his wife throw a party
Dec 14, 2020: London mayoral candidate Shaun Bailey holds staff event at Conservative Party headquarters
Dec 15, 2020: PM takes part in a staff quiz
Dec 18, 2020: Downing Street Christmas party
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
MATCH INFO
Mumbai Indians 186-6 (20 ovs)
Kings XI Punjab 183-5 (20 ovs)
Mumbai Indians won by three runs
German plea
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy told the German parliament that. Russia had erected a new wall across Europe.
"It's not a Berlin Wall -- it is a Wall in central Europe between freedom and bondage and this Wall is growing bigger with every bomb" dropped on Ukraine, Zelenskyy told MPs.
Mr Zelenskyy was applauded by MPs in the Bundestag as he addressed Chancellor Olaf Scholz directly.
"Dear Mr Scholz, tear down this Wall," he said, evoking US President Ronald Reagan's 1987 appeal to Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev at Berlin's Brandenburg Gate.
Bangladesh tour of Pakistan
January 24 – First T20, Lahore
January 25 – Second T20, Lahore
January 27 – Third T20, Lahore
February 7-11 – First Test, Rawalpindi
April 3 – One-off ODI, Karachi
April 5-9 – Second Test, Karachi
If you go
Flying
Despite the extreme distance, flying to Fairbanks is relatively simple, requiring just one transfer in Seattle, which can be reached directly from Dubai with Emirates for Dh6,800 return.
Touring
Gondwana Ecotours’ seven-day Polar Bear Adventure starts in Fairbanks in central Alaska before visiting Kaktovik and Utqiarvik on the North Slope. Polar bear viewing is highly likely in Kaktovik, with up to five two-hour boat tours included. Prices start from Dh11,500 per person, with all local flights, meals and accommodation included; gondwanaecotours.com
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The specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4-cyl turbo
Power: 201hp at 5,200rpm
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ESSENTIALS
The flights
Emirates flies from Dubai to Phnom Penh via Yangon from Dh2,700 return including taxes. Cambodia Bayon Airlines and Cambodia Angkor Air offer return flights from Phnom Penh to Siem Reap from Dh250 return including taxes. The flight takes about 45 minutes.
The hotels
Rooms at the Raffles Le Royal in Phnom Penh cost from $225 (Dh826) per night including taxes. Rooms at the Grand Hotel d'Angkor cost from $261 (Dh960) per night including taxes.
The tours
A cyclo architecture tour of Phnom Penh costs from $20 (Dh75) per person for about three hours, with Khmer Architecture Tours. Tailor-made tours of all of Cambodia, or sites like Angkor alone, can be arranged by About Asia Travel. Emirates Holidays also offers packages.
