Al-Shabaab hotel siege ends after 30-hour long face-off with Somali forces, over 20 dead

Somali forces ended a deadly siege at a hotel in the capital Mogadishu where more than 20 people were killed and dozens of hostages were freed, confirmed authorities. 

Somali forces fought the al Qaeda-linked al Shabaab group for 30 hours. Al Shabaab stormed Mogadishu's Hayat Hotel on Friday evening in an assault that started with loud explosions.

"We have confirmed so far 21 dead people and 117 others injured," Minister for health Ali Haji told national broadcaster SNTV.

"It is possible there were corpses that were not taken to hospitals but buried by relatives. The death toll and the casualties are based on the figure taken to hospitals," added the minister.

The al Qaeda-linked al Shabaab group claimed responsibility for the attack. It wants to establish its own rule based on a strict interpretation of Islamic law. Since President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud took office, the attack on Hayat was the first major incident. 

"This was the worst hotel siege we have seen," said Ahmed, a police captain who only gave one name.

The attackers shot and killed civilians who fled towards the wall of the hotel compound and its blown-up gate after they struck, Ahmed said, adding that they killed 10 security personnel with firearms and grenades.

Aden Ali, a survivor, told Reuters that he was drinking a cup of tea at the hotel when he heard the first blast. He ran towards the compound wall with others as the militants fired at them.

"We were many on the run, over a dozen. When I went out of the hotel, I could see eight of us. Maybe the rest died in the shooting," Ali said.

Another group of people in the hotel fled to an upper floor, where they were killed by the militants who first blew up the stairs to prevent escape, Ali said.

Security forces managed to free some of those who locked themselves in their rooms on the upper floors after several hours, he said.

Some 106 people were freed, including women and children, a senior police commander said. There was no immediate information on the number of assailants involved in the attack.

Residents were milling around the bombed-out hotel on Sunday, although another official had earlier told Reuters that mop-up operations were still going on at the building, which suffered extensive damage.

"We are still investigating the explosions of many plastic bags that have been scattered around the hotel," said Mohamed Ali, a military officer at the scene.

(With inputs from Reuters)

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