Eight civilians dead as Somalia hotel siege ends, say police

Al Shabab attack

Somali security forces have ended an hours-long siege by Al Shabab militants who stormed a popular hotel in the capital Mogadishu overnight, killing eight civilians, the national police spokesman said on Monday. The attack by the Al Qaeda-linked insurgents began around 8pm on Sunday in a hail of gunfire and explosions, as they besieged the Villa Rose hotel which is frequented by parliamentarians and other government officials. Around 21 hours after the attack started, Sadik Dudishe, a spokesman for the national police, told reporters “the clearance operation in the Villa Rose hotel has ended”. The militants “killed eight civilians who stayed in the hotel and the security forces succeeded in rescuing about 60 civilians, no one among the civilians was wounded,” he added.