Siege at Somali hotel ends, 17 dead

March 28, 2015 12:19 pm | Updated April 20, 2016 05:31 am IST - MOGADISHU

A general view shows the entrance of the Maka Al-Mukarama hotel during an attack by Somalian Islamist group al-Shabab in Mogadishu.

A general view shows the entrance of the Maka Al-Mukarama hotel during an attack by Somalian Islamist group al-Shabab in Mogadishu.

Somali troops on Saturday took full control of a hotel that extremist gunmen stormed and occupied for more than 12 hours following a suicide bombing. At least 17 people died and dozens were wounded.

The gunfire has stopped and security agents have accessed the whole building, said senior police officer Capt. Mohamed Hussein. He had earlier said the gunmen were believed to have occupied the third and fourth floors of the Maka Al-Mukarramah hotel in the capital Mogadishu.

“The operation has ended. We have taken full control of the hotel,” Capt. Hussein said.

There was no immediate indication of how many of the dead were attackers, all of whom were killed according to Capt. Hussein.

Somalia’s ambassador to Switzerland was among those killed in the attack, said Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud.

The attack started around 4 pm on Friday when a suicide bomber detonated his explosives-laden car at the gate of the hotel. Gunmen then quickly moved in.

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