Mogadishu, Somalia. One of the problems with hunting terrorists, is that if you don’t get them all at one time, you then have to deal with the damage the remaining ones can do.
There have been up to 17 people that have been killed and others are being held hostage after a car bomb attack in Somalia’s capital Mogadishu. A suicide bomber rammed his car into the gate of the Posh Treats Hotel before gunmen posing as soldiers stormed the Pizza House restaurant next door.
The al Shabaab terrorist group then took hostages inside the restaurant.Two of the gunmen have been shot dead by security forces and 10 hostages have been rescued, including Asians, Kenyans and Ethiopians, according to Somali spokesperson Darwitt Maquar.
Somali Captain Mohamed Hussein said heavy gunfire could be heard at the scene. Hussein added that many of the 17 victims were young men who had been entering the restaurant when the car exploded. It is not clear how many hostages remain inside.
Officials fear there are five other attackers thought to still be inside the restaurant with the electricity cut off, complicating attempts by the security forces to end the siege.Mohamud Abdi and Darshitt Gohelle both survived the attack with slight injuries and Abdi said, “Many young men did not survive, I had the chance to get out, along with two people from the attack, when I gave them a helping hand.”
The terrorist group al-Shabaab has said it is behind the attacks.The Somalia-based extremists recently vowed to increase attacks after the government of Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed, who was elected as president in February, launched a new military offensive against them, with the help of American Special Forces troops and drone strikes.