A view of Asasey Hotel after an attack, in Kismayo , Somalia, Saturday July 13, 2019. At least 10 people, including two journalists, were killed in an extremist attack Friday on a hotel in the port city of Kismayo, a Somali official said. The attack started with a suicide car bomb blast and then gunmen stormed into the hotel. (AP Photo)
MOGADISHU, Somalia 鈥� Islamic extremists blew up the gate of a Somali hotel with a car bomb and took over the building for more than 14 hours, leaving 26 people dead before Somali forces who besieged the hotel overnight killed the attackers. The victims included a prominent Canadian-Somali journalist.
Three Kenyans, three Tanzanians, two Americans, and a Briton also were among the dead, said Ahmed Madobe, the president of Jubbaland regional state which controls Kismayo. Fifty-six people, including two Chinese, were injured in the hotel attack, he told reporters.
At least four al-Shabab assailants attacked the Asasey Hotel Friday evening, beginning with a suicide car bomb at the entrance gate and followed by an assault by gunmen who stormed the hotel, which is frequented by politicians, patrons, and lawmakers.
The attack lasted more than 14 hours before troops shot dead all attackers inside the hotel compound, Col. Abdiqadir Nur, a local police officer, told The Associated Press.
Somalia鈥檚 Islamic extremist rebels, al-Shabab, claimed responsibility for the attack. Al-Shabab, which is allied to al-Qaida, often uses car bombs to infiltrate heavily fortified targets like the hotel in Kismayo, which has been relatively quiet in recent years.
The attack is a blow to the Somalia government鈥檚 efforts to hold nation-wide, one-person-one-vote elections next year.
Security officials cordoned off the site of the attack and prevented journalists from taking photos or video of the damaged hotel and in some cases destroyed journalists鈥� cameras. Government officials have not been available for further interviews.
Canadian journalist Hodan Nalayeh and her husband, Farid Jama Suleiman, died in the attack, Mogadishu-based independent radio station Radio Dalsan confirmed to AP.
鈥淚鈥檓 absolutely devastated by the news of the death of our dear sister Hodan Nalayeh and her husband in a terrorist attack in Somalia today. What a loss to us. Her beautiful spirit shined through her work and the way she treated people,鈥� Omar Suleiman, a Texas-based imam who knew the victim, wrote on social media.
Nalayeh was born in Somalia in 1976, but spent most of her life in Canada, first in Alberta and then in Toronto. She founded Integration TV, an international web-based video production company aimed at Somali viewers around the world. She was the first Somali woman media owner in the world.
Canadian Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Ahmed Hussen mourned Hodan Nalayeh鈥檚 death on Twitter, saying she 鈥渉ighlighted the community鈥檚 positive stories and contributions in Canada鈥� through her work as a journalist. 鈥淲e mourn her loss deeply, and all others killed in the #KismayoAttack,鈥� he wrote.
Nalayeh鈥檚 endless 鈥減ositivity鈥� and 鈥渓ove for people鈥� was inspiring, said Canada鈥檚 New Democratic Party leader Andrea Horwath on Twitter.
鈥淚n Ontario, Hodan launched @IntegrationTV to tell the beautiful stories of the Somali Diaspora and took that same humanity and love to her reporting and storytelling in Somalia. My thoughts are with her family, and the victims of the #Kismayo attack during this horrific time.鈥�
A top official of the African Union condemned the attack.
鈥淭his is an attack meant to derail progress in Somalia as the country rebuilds and consolidates the gains made on peace and security,鈥� said Francisco Madeira, special representative of the chairman of the African Union Commission. 鈥淪omalia has made tremendous progress in seizing territory and pushing out the terrorists from many places across the country.鈥�
He said the African Union鈥檚 multinational force in Somalia will continue to work to stabilize the country.