Expand / Collapse search
Watch TV
Menu

This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. ©2024 FOX News Network, LLC. All rights reserved. Quotes displayed in real-time or delayed by at least 15 minutes. Market data provided by Factset. Powered and implemented by FactSet Digital Solutions. Legal Statement. Mutual Fund and ETF data provided by Refinitiv Lipper.

Africa

Loud explosion is heard as Somali militant group says its fighters have attacked a hotel in capital

Last major Mogadishu attack was a twin car bombing in October 2022

Associated Press
Published
close
Fox News Flash top headlines for March 14 Video

Fox News Flash top headlines for March 14

Fox News Flash top headlines are here. Check out what's clicking on Foxnews.com.

MOGADISHU, Somalia (AP) — The Somali extremist group al-Shabab said its fighters have attacked a hotel in the capital Mogadishu, where a loud explosion and gunfire were heard Thursday night.

UNITED STATES INCREASING ASSISTANCE TO SOMALIA IN MILITARY OFFENSIVE AGAINST AL-SHABAB

Al-Shabab said on its Telegram channel that its fighters managed to penetrate the SYL Hotel, which is located not far from the presidential palace in a normally secure part of Mogadishu. The hotel is patronized by government officials.

There was no immediate word on casualties.

Somali-Attack

Somali security forces guard the entrance to the SYL hotel which was attacked by al-Shabab Islamic extremist rebels on Tuesday night, in Mogadishu, Somalia Wednesday, Dec. 11, 2019. The Somali extremist group al-Shabab says on Thursday, March 14, 2024, its fighters have attacked a hotel in the capital Mogadishu, where a loud explosion and gunfire have been heard. Al-Shabab said on its Telegram channel that its fighters managed to penetrate the SYL hotel, which is located not far from the presidential palace in a normally secure part of Mogadishu.

Attacks in the seaside capital had reduced in recent weeks amid a beefing up of security there. Al-Shabab, which opposes Somalia's federal government, is responsible for many lethal attacks on hotels and other places over the years.

The last major attack in Mogadishu happened in October 2022, when at least 120 civilians were killed in twin car bombings at a busy junction.

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

Somalia’s government has been engaged in a high-profile new offensive against the extremist group that the United States has described as one of al-Qaida’s deadliest organizations. Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud has declared "total war" against the extremists, who control large parts of central and southern Somalia and have been the target of scores of U.S. airstrikes in recent years.