9 killed, 47 injured in Kismayo hotel attack by Al-Shabaab

Al-Shabaab militants’ Sunday attack on a hotel in Somalia’s southern city of Kismayo has left nine people dead and 47 others injured, a regional security minister said.

The attack began at noon when militants rammed an explosives-laden vehicle into the entrance of Tawakal Hotel. Heavy gunfire followed with three attackers storming into the building. The hotel is popular with local politicians and government officials.

Jubbaland’s security Yusuf Hussein Osman Dhumal said all the attackers, including one suicide bomber, had been killed, ending a seven-hour long siege of the hotel.

Earlier, Al-Shabaab claimed responsibility for the attack.

Meanwhile, the Somali government on Sunday issued a directive to business owners to reject paying extortion money to the militants, warning that the funds are used to carry out attacks against the public.

Deputy Information Minister Abdirahman Yusuf Al-adala said the government has set up two hotlines where citizens can report incidents of money extortion by Al-Shabaab.

“You are not required to tell us your name and your location. All you have to do is share the information about the person seeking the collection of the extortion,” he noted.

Al-Shabaab generates an average of $100 million per year from various sources, according to US estimates.