Suspected Al-Shabaab gunmen set off an explosion and stormed a popular hotel Wednesday in Mogadishu, Somalia, police said.
The siege at the Ambassador Hotel began after the attackers detonated a car packed with explosives at the gates of the building, according to Capt. Da’ud Hajji, a senior Somali police officer.
One of the gunmen is dead, and two others remain inside the hotel, according to a tweet from Somalia’s National Intelligence and Security Agency.
The explosion shook nearby offices and injured bystanders in front of the hotel, witnesses said. Victims flooded a nearby hospital.
“Almost every 10 minutes they brought new people and bodies in,” said Bashir Ali Mohamed, who was at the hospital visiting family members injured in the blast. “I have never seen such a horrible thing. Blood is everywhere.”
Sounds of gunshots, ambulances hours later
Authorities have rescued 10 people and cleared out three of the hotel’s four floors, according to the security agency. At least three of the people rescued were members of Somalia’s Parliament, said Aden Osman, a hotel employee who also escaped the attack.
The Ambassador Hotel is a popular spot for Somali politicians and Westerners.
Mohamed said he could feel the blast from his office a kilometer away. He posted a photo on Twitter showing smoke rising in the distance.
More than two hours after the attack began, Mohamed said he could still hear gunshots and ambulances.
Al-Shabaab has used tactic before
Al-Shabaab claimed responsibility soon after the attack. Citing an unnamed commander, a statement on a website linked to Al-Shabaab said one of the group’s jihadist fighters detonated a car with explosives at the gate, allowing armed militants to enter the building.
It’s a tactic Al-Shabaab has used before, such as an attack at another hotel in the Somali capital last year that left 15 people dead.
The militants aim to turn Somalia into a fundamentalist Islamic state.
The group has been blamed for attacks in Somalia that have killed international aid workers, journalists, civilian leaders and African Union peacekeepers.
