At least 12 killed at Somalia hotel, hostages held
STORY: At least 12 people have been killed in Somalia's capital Mogadishu after al Qaeda-linked militants attacked a hotel.
They seized hostages, and authorities were still battling to free them nearly 20 hours later, an intelligence officer said on Saturday (August 20).
The attackers blasted their way into the Hayat Hotel with two car bombs on Friday evening (August 19), before opening fire.
Somalia's al Shabaab insurgents have claimed responsibility.
The intelligence officer, who gave his name only as Mohammed, said at least 12 people, mostly civilians, were confirmed dead.
He said the gunmen were holding an unknown number of hostages on the second floor, preventing authorities from using heavy weapons.
They had also bombed out the stairs to make it harder to access the upper floors.
The Hayat Hotel is popular with lawmakers and other government officials. There was no immediate information on whether any were caught up in the siege.
This was the first major attack since President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud took office in May.
Al Shabaab has been fighting to topple the Somali government for more than 10 years. It wants to establish its own rule based on a strict interpretation of Islamic law.
