Report: Two Americans among 26 dead in Somali hotel attack

Two Americans were among the 26 dead after an attack on a hotel in Somalia on Friday, according to the BBC. The outlet reported that a “suicide bomber rammed a car containing explosives into the Asasey hotel in the port of Kismayo, and gunmen then stormed the building.”

The siege lasted 12 hours before 4 gunmen were killed by security forces.

NBC News reports that another attacker was later captured by authorities.

Chaos in Somalia

Islamist group al-Shabab claimed responsibility for the attack, which targeted a regional political meeting taking place at the hotel. The group had not been active in about three years.

“There is chaos inside, I saw several dead bodies carried from the scene and people are fleeing from the nearby buildings,” witness Hussein Muktar said of the attack.

Another person on-site, Mahad Abdia, said that dozens were rescued by police and security forces during the raid.

Car bombs have been a common mode of attack for the group, which has been on the decline since 2012. But despite the relative inactivity, thousands of al-Shabab fighters still operate in Somalia, mostly in the south and central areas of the country.

U.S. Africa Command said in January that the Pentagon had about 500 personnel in Somalia. These included troops, civilians, and contractors, according to NBC.

Leaving a legacy

In addition to the two Americans, citizens of Kenya, Tanzania, Canada, and Great Britain were also killed in the attack, along with one local Somali politician. Another 56 people were wounded, some seriously.

Several journalists, including Hodan Nalayeh, also lost their lives in the attack, the BBC reports. Nalayeh was a prominent Somali journalist who had just returned from living in Canada for many years to tell the stories of Somalis.

Nalayeh’s husband Farid was also killed.

“My vision is not to be famous and to make money. My mission is what I will leave behind when I die and what will I be remembered for,” the journalist once said. “One of the things is that I want people to remember that I loved the Somali people and want them to be brothers and to remember the importance of our unity for our country.”