Attack in Mogadishu by Shabaab kills 27

THE death toll from a deadly weekend attack on a hotel in Mogadishu has risen to 27, the Somali government said yesterday, announcing the dismissal of the country’s police and intelligence chiefs.

The move came after al-Qaeda-aligned Shabaab gunmen staged bomb attacks outside a hotel in the north of the Somali capital on Saturday before storming the building.

The latest toll was given by Security Minister Mohamed Abukar Islow at a cabinet meeting at which ministers approved the dismissal of intelligence agency boss Abdillahi Mohamed Sanbalooshe and police chief Abdihakim Dahir Said.

The two were “fired for the purpose of serious accountability”, said a statement said.

The sackings come two weeks after Somalia suffered its deadliest-ever terrorist attack in which 358 people were killed in a truck bombing in Mogadishu.

Osman said five people had so far been arrested in connection with the October 14 attack.

The attack on Saturday began when a car bomb exploded outside the Nasa Hablod Hotel 2 entrance, followed by a minibus loaded with explosives going off at a nearby intersection.

“Five gunmen stormed the building, two of them were killed and the rest captured alive. The security forces are still working on retrieving the casualties, we don’t have exact number of the casualties so far,” Security Ministry spokesman Abdiasiz Ali Ibrahim said.