Qadar slams Nasahablood hotel blast in Mogadishu

Qatar Government has condemned the blast that targeted Nasahablood hotel in the Somalia’s seaside capital, Mogadishu.

The Foreign Ministry said Qatar condemns this criminal act which contradicts all human values and principles.

At least 16 people were killed on Saturday in the attack on the hotel  that was swiftly claimed by al-Qaeda-affiliated al-Shabab militants.

The assault, the latest in a series by the Islamist group targeting hotels and restaurants, began when a suicide bomber detonated a car laden with explosives outside the building.

Gunmen then stormed the Naasa Hablood hotel and gunfire rang out for several hours, witnesses said, before the authorities declared the attack over.

“The attack started with a heavy blast carried out by a brother who drove a car loaded with explosives. Gunmen fought their way into the hotel, and we believe that casualties were inflicted in the enemy’s ranks,” Al-Shabaab said.

Among those killed in the attacked were three Goobjoog news staff.

Police in Mogadishu, Somalia, have said  that the standoff has ended hours after the explosion.

Medical sources said some 24 civilians were wounded.

Saturday’s assault came just three weeks after another attack quickly claimed by Al-Shabaab on the city’s Ambassador hotel left 10 dead including two lawmakers when a huge car bomb ripped the front off the six-storey building.

Al-Shabaab lost their foothold in the capital in 2011 but continue their battle to overthrow the Somali government and launch regular attacks on military, government and civilian targets like hotels and restaurants in Mogadishu and elsewhere.