BRUTAL

Mogadishu Hotel Under Siege After Deadly Bombing

Authorities say at least 18 people have been killed and armed militants have seized the building.

At least 18 people were killed Saturday when a suicide car bomb was rammed into a Mogadishu hotel before armed militants stormed the building. A second blast was heard moments after the first one at the Nasa-Hablod hotel and battles were still ongoing inside as authorities sought to tend to the more than 30 wounded, Capt. Mohamed Hussein told the Associated Press. The extremist group al-Shabab has claimed responsibility for the attack on the popular hotel, which is located near the presidential palace and counts politicians and members of Mogadishu’s elite among its frequent guests. The group said it still had fighters inside the hotel. The bombing comes just two weeks after more than 350 people were killed after a truck bomb went off on one of Mogadishu’s busiest streets in Somalia’s worst-ever terrorist attack.