Car explosion, gunfire hit hotel in Somalia’s Kismayu: Reports

A car laden with explosives rammed into the gate of a hotel in the center of Somalia’s port city of Kismayu followed by gunfire, a police officer and a resident said on Sunday.

The state-run Somali National Television said on Twitter that security forces were dealing with a “terrorist incident” at the hotel.

“There is a blast at Tawakal hotel and there is gunfire being heard,” Mohamed Nur, a police captain said.

There was no immediate word on casualties. Witnesses said a huge blast was heard before the gunfire started.

“The security forces have besieged the scene,” Farah Ali, a shopkeeper in Kismayu, said. It was not immediately clear who was responsible for the attack.

Journalist Jama Nur Ahmed from Mogadishu, quoting an official, said that an “exchange of fire” was still ongoing between security forces and fighters.

Al Shabab was driven out of Kismayu in 2012. The city’s port had been a major source of revenue for the group from taxes, charcoal exports, and levies on arms and other illegal imports.

In 2019, a similar attack at another hotel in Kismayu killed at least 26 people.

President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud, who was elected in May, has pledged to defeat al-Shabaab after countless deadly attacks.

Agencies