Terrorists attack hotel, kill 9, injure 47

 Terrorists on  Sunday attacked a hotel, killing 9 people, and leaving 47 others injured in Kismayo, southern Somalia.  The attack and killings were attributed to the Al-Shabaab Islamist.

The terrorists were said to have struck at 12.45 pm (0945 GMT) with a booby-trapped car ramming into the entrance of Hotel Tawakal. The attack was said to have lasted  till about 7.00pm; security forces were said to have succeeded in killing the terrorists.

Jubaland security minister Yusuf Hussein Osman had identified the dead victims to include students at a nearby school, asserting that the four attackers, and the suicide bomber all died also.

Police officer Abdullahi Ismail in a statement indicated: “The first one detonated himself and the three were killed by the security forces.

“This is not a government target.

“It is just an ordinary, civilian-frequented hotel.”

Al-Shabaab, claiming responsibility for the terrorists attack, noted that members of the federal government of Jubaland, where Kismayo is located, were meeting in the hotel at the time.