Mogadishu:At least 20 people died in an attack in the Somali capital Mogadishu, which saw Al-Shabaab insurgents battling security forces for nearly 24
Mogadishu:At least 20 people died in an attack in the Somali capital Mogadishu, which saw Al-Shabaab insurgents battling security forces for nearly 24 hours before the siege ended, officials said Saturday.
As the standoff ended, the government vowed to step up efforts to fight the jihadists, with the deadly siege the latest in a long line of bombing and assaults claimed by the Al-Qaeda-linked group.
“The Somali government will never stop its war on Al-Shabaab, our aim is to be done with them, whatever the cost,” Prime Minister Hassan Ali Khaire told reporters late on Friday.
The premier also praised the courage of the elite soldiers who he said had rescued 35 civilians used as “human shields” by the assailants.
The attack began on Thursday evening at around 1800 GMT, when a Shabaab militant in a car blew himself up, causing a huge blast that ripped the front off a major hotel and left several cars in flames on the busy street.