Information reaching Kossyderrickent has it that Journalist confirms Hayat hotel owner, Abdirahman Hassan Iman, is among the 14 people who got killed in Hayat hotel bombing by Al-Shabaab in Mogadishu.
The attack started with explosions outside the hotel before the gunmen entered the building.
Somali forces were still trying to end the siege of the hotel almost 24 hours after the attack started. Gunfire could still be heard Saturday evening as security forces tried to contain the last gunmen thought to be holed up on the hotel’s top floor.
The Islamic extremist group al-Shabab, which has ties with al-Qaida, claimed responsibility for the attack, the latest of its frequent attempts to strike places visited by government officials. The attack on the hotel is the first major terror incident in Mogadishu since Somalia’s new leader, Hassan Sheikh Mohamud, took over in May.
“We were having tea near the hotel lobby when we heard the first blast, followed by gunfire. I immediately rushed toward hotel rooms on the ground floor and I locked the door,” witness Abdullahi Hussein said by phone. “The militants went straight upstairs and started shooting. I was inside the room until the security forces arrived and rescued me.”
Journalist confirms: “JUST IN: Hayat hotel owner Abdirahman Hassan Iman confirmed dead. 14 others were also killed. Abdi Ladif and Osama, who were part of the Haramed army, were injured in the fighting at the Hayat Hotel in Mogadishu .
I pray to God to heal him soon.. Abdi Ladif and Osama, who were part of the Haramed army, were injured in the fighting at the Hayat Hotel in Mogadishu .
I pray to God to heal him soon.. May God have mercy on our brother Abdi Hadi who passed away tonight in the Hayat hotel explosion in Mogadishu, it is a very painful death, may God give patience to his family, relatives and the Somali nation and may God reward him in Jannatul Firdowsa amen.”
