Nov. 9 (UPI) — A series of car bombs detonated in the Somali capital of Mogadishu on Friday, killing at least 23 people, local officials said.
Explosions and gunfire erupted in the area around the Sahafi Hotel and the Somali police force’s Criminal Investigations Department. Four gunmen, who fired upon civilians from the roof of the hotel, also died.
The al-Shabab militant group claimed responsibility for the attack, saying it was targeting government officials at the hotel.
Among those killed was the owner of the hotel, Abdifatah Abdirashid, whose father, Abdirashid Mohamed, died in a similar attack three years earlier, the BBC reported.
A witness told Voice of America the front of the hotel building was destroyed in the attack.
Former official Abdi Barre Jibril told VOA that two women and an 8-year-old child were among the dead.
