At least eleven people have died and several MPs have been injured in a suicide attack on a hotel in the Somali capital Mogadishu. The deputy prime
At least eleven people have died and several MPs have been injured in a suicide attack on a hotel in the Somali capital Mogadishu.
The deputy prime minister and the transport minister were among those wounded.
According to eyewitnesses two explosions were followed by gunfire at the Central Hotel around lunch time. Police say a car bomb exploded and attackers entered the building where ministers and lawmakers had gathered.
#BREAKING Car bomb hits the gate entrance of Hotel central near #Somalipresidential Palace.Casualties feared #Somalia pic.twitter.com/t9NCWyP2HM
— Mogadishu News (@MogadishuNews) February 20, 2015
The Islamist militant group Al-Shabaab has claimed responsibility for the attack, saying the hotel was targeted as part of their operation in Mogadishu.
It comes after an MP was killed by the militants in a drive-by shooting in the capital earlier this month.