Somalis anxiously await news of loved ones as hotel siege endsThe attack was the biggest in Mogadishu since Somalia's new President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud took office in June. The hotel was a favoured meeting spot for government officials and scores of people were inside when gunmen stormed the property. Businessman Muktar Adan, whose brother was inside the hotel when the attack started, told AFP he was waiting for permission to enter the hotel and look for his sibling. A second explosion occurred just minutes later, witnesses said, inflicting more casualties as rescuers, security forces and civilians rushed to help those injured. Al-Shabaab has carried out several attacks in Somalia since Mohamud took office, and last month launched strikes on the Ethiopian border.
