The siege on Villa Rossa Hotel in Mogadishu reported to have continued for nearly 21 hours after the Al-Qaeda affiliated Al-Shabaab militants launched an attack on the popular hotel frequented by government officials.
The attack that demonstrates a significant intelligence failure and infiltration of Somali security architecture began around 8:00 p.m. with two suicide bombings before armed Al-Shabaab fighters stormed and carried out complex attack on a hotel located in a secure area not far from the Presidential Palace in Mogadishu with security checkpoints.
There were several government officials inside the hotel including three Ministers and various senior leaders and Government officials were at the hotel when the militant struck, an indicator the terror group could have been tipped off by agents within or around the complex facility.
It is unclear how many Al-Shabaab militants participated in the attack but remain puzzling is how the militants managed to breach the security around the hotel besides several security checkpoints in one of the most tightly guarded parts of the city, very close to the Presidential Palace where on has to go through these checkpoints, and carry verifiable Identification before clearance.
The Villa Rossa Hotel advertises itself as the “most secure lodging arrangement in capital Mogadishu” on its website, with metal detectors and a tall encircling wall but the militants managed to breach that enhanced security, an indication of an infiltrated security besides Al-Shabaab having informants within the Somali security.
The Somali government has yet to release information about the casualties of the attack but at least 10 have been killed and several wounded as per hospital sources in Mogadishu. At least 60 others were rescued from the hotel during the attack.
Somali Security Forces ended the terror siege on Villa Rossa Hotel near the Presidential Palace in the capital Mogadishu. All Al-Shabāab al-Mujāhideen terrorists who stormed the hotel were killed. Six attackers were involved in the attack; five were shot dead by the Elite security forces, while the other one blew himself up with a suicide vest.
Al-Shabaab, an Al-Qaeda-affiliated militant insurgency that has spent the last 15 years attempting to topple Somalia’s internationally-backed government, claimed responsibility for the assault saying it was targeting high-profile figures within the government.
The attack on Villa Rossa Hotel is the Al-Shabaab’s third hotel raid since President Mohamud came to office in mid-May. At least 21 people were killed in a 30-hour siege on Mogadishu’s Hayat hotel in August and another 11 killed at the Tawakal Hotel in Kismayo in late October. Al-Shabaab will continue to target busy hotels and facilities frequented by government officials besides foreigners.
