At least 13 people were killed on Wednesday in Somalia's capital Mogadishu when al Shabaab militants rammed a car bomb into the gate of a hotel and stormed inside, police said. A dozen others were injured," Major Mohamed Ahmed, a police officer, told Reuters, adding that the death toll could rise. Gunfire rang out as fighters entered Dayah Hotel and a second blast shook the area shortly afterwards, police and witnesses said. "Well-armed mujahideen (fighters) attacked the hotel, and now they are fighting inside the hotel," according to a report by Somalia's Andalus radio, which is linked to al Shabaab. The hotel attack comes a day after four soldiers were killed when al Shabaab militants planted a roadside bomb in a town near Mogadishu.

Source: The Star January 25, 2017 09:36 UTC