Somalia Car Bomb: The Al-Shabaab jihadist group claimed responsibility for a hotel attack that left nine people dead and 47 injured on Sunday in Kismayo, southern Somalia, according to the region’s security minister.
The port city is the most recent to be attacked as a result of the Al-Qaeda-affiliated group’s recent upsurge of operations, which have primarily targeted the capital Mogadishu and central Somalia.
The attack on Sunday started at 12:45 p.m. (0945 GMT) when a car carrying explosives hit Hotel Tawakal’s front door. Around 7:00 p.m., the incident came to a conclusion when security personnel killed the assailants.
According to Jubaland security minister Yusuf Hussein Osman, victims included people exiting a neighbouring school. He stated that all four attackers—including the suicide bomber—were killed.
He reaffirmed an earlier police statement by saying, “The first one detonated himself and the (remaining) three were slain by the security personnel.”
Policeman Abdullahi Ismail declared, “This is not a government objective.” “It’s just a regular motel that caters to civilians,”
When the attack occurred, Farhan Hassan was standing outside the hotel. Before the shooters entered the structure, “a suicide bomber drove a car into the entryway of the hotel,” he claimed.
Al-Shabaab took credit for the six-hour assault, claiming that federal government officials from Jubaland, where Kismayo is situated, were gathering there at the time.
“Full-scale war”
Al-Shabaab frequently strikes military and civilian targets while attempting to overthrow the government for more than 15 years.
Prior to local militias being supported by Kenyan military in 2012, Kismayo was an Al-Shabaab stronghold.
The organisation attacked the well-known Hayat hotel in Mogadishu with guns and bombs for 30 hours in August, leaving 117 people injured and 21 dead.
The group attacked a hotel in Kismayo in 2019, killing 26 people and injured 56 others.
After the siege in August, newly-elected Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud promised to launch “all-out war” on the Islamists.
He warned people in September to avoid jihadist-held areas, claiming that the military and local militia were stepping up their offensives against them.
One of the insurgents’ senior commanders was killed by a combined US-Somali drone operation on October 1.
A triple bombing in the southern city of Beledweyne killed at least 30 people just hours after his passing was reported.
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Somalia is also experiencing the worst drought in more than 40 years
In addition to insecurity, Somalia is experiencing the worst drought in more than 40 years, much like its neighbours in the Horn of Africa. Livestock and crops have been destroyed by four unsuccessful rainy seasons.
According to the United Nations, nearly half of Somalia’s population, or 7.8 million people, are affected by the drought, and 213,000 people are on the verge of hunger as a result.
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