After 30 Hours, Somali Forces End Jihadist Siege Over Mogadishu Hotel: Security Commander

According to officials, at least 13 civilians have been murdered and others have been injured after Al-Qaeda affiliate terrorists launched a gun and bomb attack on the famous Hayat Hotel on Friday.

Somali soldiers have ended a 30-hour-long fatal siege by Al-Shabaab extremists at a hotel in the capital Mogadishu, a security commander informed AFP around Saturday midnight.

According to Somali officials, at least 13 civilians have been murdered and others have been injured after Al-Qaeda affiliate terrorists launched a gun and bomb attack on the famous Hayat Hotel on Friday evening.

While seeking the anonymity, the commander informed AFP: "The security forces have ended the siege now and the gunmen are dead, we've had no incoming gunfire from the building in the past hour."

He provided no more details on the overall number of civilian or security deaths, or the number of Al-Shabaab fighters slain, stating the government will hold a news conference on Sunday morning.

He said that the structure still needed to be cleansed of any explosives that may have been installed.

The attack was the largest in Mogadishu since Somalia's new President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud took office in June, and it highlighted the difficulty of putting an end to the Islamist terrorist group's 15-year insurgency.

The hotel, a renowned hangout for government officials, was destroyed late Saturday after security forces hammered it with heavy weaponry in an attempt to evict gunmen who had holed up inside for the second night in a row.

Witnesses witnessing the scene from another building's rooftop said they witnessed flames tear through the hotel during the security forces' attack, with huge explosions and shooting reported.

Several people were trapped when the attack began, and while officials reported dozens had been rescued, including children, it is unclear how many people were trapped when the siege ended.

Al-Shabaab Claims Responsibility For Attack

Al-Shabaab, which has claimed credit for multiple fatal strikes against the country's shaky government in the Horn of Africa, has claimed responsibility.

Earlier, security spokesman Mohamed Abdikadir told AFP that 13 people had been confirmed dead.

Mohamed Abdirahman Jama, the head of Mogadishu's major trauma hospital, claimed at least 40 people had been injured in the hotel attack and a subsequent mortar strike on a beachside suburb, Hamar Jajab.

(With AFP Inputs)