MOGADISHU: The death toll from an Al-Shabab attack on a hotel in central Somalia where clan leaders were meeting on Tuesday has risen to 10 and most of the victims were civilians, a police officer in the town said on Wednesday.
On Tuesday, attackers from the Al-Qaeda-linked group struck the hotel in Beledweyne with a car bomb before its gunmen entered the hotel and engaged in a day-long siege with government forces trying to flush them out.
Clan elders from the Hiran region had gathered in the hotel for a meeting to discuss ways of countering Al-Shabab before the attack, which the Islamist militant group claimed responsibility for.
A clan elder had earlier put the death toll at seven.
“The siege was concluded last night at midnight. Four attackers blew themselves up and the other two attackers were shot dead,” Major Nur Aden, a police officer told Reuters from Beledweyne, which is also the region’s capital.
“Ten people died in the hospital including elders and soldiers, mostly civilians,” he said.
A resident who lives next to the hotel, Ahmed Ismail, said gunfire had died down at around midnight.
Al Shabab often conducts bomb and gun attacks in the fragile Horn of Africa nation as part of a campaign launched nearly two decades ago to topple the government and establish its own rule based on its strict interpretation of Islamic law.
Al Shabab said in a statement its fighters had killed 20 people including soldiers and elders. It gave no details of its own casualties. The numbers it gives often differ from those of officials and residents.
Somalia hotel siege death toll rises to 10, officer says
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Somalia hotel siege death toll rises to 10, officer says
- Attackers from Al-Shabab struck the hotel in Beledweyne with a car bomb
Explosion in the Netherlands injures at least 4 and causes widespread damage
- The four people injured were taken to the city’s hospital
- Firefighters said they were investigating how they could safely comb through the rubble
UTRECHT, Netherlands: An explosion on a residential street in the center of the Dutch city of Utrecht injured at least four people Thursday, an emergency services official said. The cause of the blast was not immediately known.
The explosion, which caused a blaze and widespread damage, occurred mid afternoon, sending people running into nearby shopping streets. Firefighters tried to douse the flames but were not immediately able to enter damaged homes because of fears of structural damage.
Emergency services spokesman Sjaak Haasnoot said the four people injured were taken to the city’s hospital. The extent of their injuries was not known. It was unclear if there were any casualties.
“It is very difficult at the moment to say how many victims are under the rubble,” Haasnoot said. “The fire department cannot enter the building because it is still unstable.”
Firefighters said they were investigating how they could safely comb through the rubble of the shattered buildings to establish if any people are trapped. Residents whose homes were damaged were being accommodated in a nearby hotel.
Police were investigating, Utrecht Mayor Sharon Dijksma told reporters.
“This explosion has had a huge impact on the heart of our city. Everyone is deeply shocked, especially those in the immediate vicinity,” Dijksma said.
