Police Confirm Civilians Casualties In Extremist Attack On Mogadishu Hotel

Police in Somalia on Saturday said nine people, including three soldiers, were killed in Friday, June 9 night’s extremist attack on a beachside hotel in the capital, Mogadishu.

The hours-long attack that concluded early on Saturday morning, according to the police statement released on Saturday, left 10 additional individuals injured and 84 people in need of rescue.

Al-Shabab, a branch of al-Qaida in East Africa, took credit for the assault. 

The extremist organization is notorious for conducting assaults in Mogadishu on hotels and other prominent areas, typically beginning with a suicide bombing.

The Associated Press was informed by witnesses that some individuals were stranded inside the well-liked government officials' Pearl Beach hotel. 

One of the most populated areas in Mogadishu is Lido Beach.

Director of Amin Ambulance Service Abdulkadir Adan stated that "what happened last night was quite tragic as it occurred in an unexpected setting and at an unexpected time."

On Friday evening (1700 GMT), just before 8:00 p.m., seven assailants stormed the Pearl Beach hotel, a well-liked destination at Lido Beach along Mogadishu's coastline.

Police said that it came to an end at approximately 2:00 am following a bloody confrontation between security personnel and the insurgents, all of whom were killed in the clash.

Gunfire and explosions were heard at the hotel on Lido Beach, according to witnesses.  

One witness, Abdirahim Ali, told AFP, "I was close to the Pearl Beach restaurant when (a) heavy explosion occurred in front of the building."

Yaasin Nur reported to AFP that the restaurant was "full of people as it was recently renovated" while she was there. 

Last year was the bloodiest for civilians in Somalia since 2017 as the Islamist Al-Shabaab organization increased its insurgency, according to UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres in a report released in February.

Between September 2022 and February 2023, the UN mission in Somalia documented a more than 150% rise in civilian casualties, reaching 1,059, including 382 deaths, the vast majority of which were linked to Al-Shabaab, he claimed.