Photo by Said Yusuf Warsame/EPA
At least 14 people are dead and 25 injured after gunmen stormed a hotel in Mogadishu on Saturday and took an unknown number of guests hostage, according to the Associated Press. The al-Qaeda-linked militant group al-Shabaab has claimed responsibility for the attack.Security forces eventually hunted down the attackers, putting an end to an hours-long standoff that started when a suicide bomber detonated a car bomb outside the hotel gate. The attack targeted the Nasa-Hablod hotel near the Somali capital's busy KM-4 junction."We have finally ended the siege. The last remaining militants were killed on the top floor," police captain Mohamed Hussein told AP. At least four gunmen were reportedly involved in the attack.Bursts of gunfire could be heard in video footage posted to Twitter, and ambulances were seen speeding to the scene.
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Major Ali Mohamed told Reuters the death toll included guards, civilians and militants. "The operation has now ended but we are still combing the building for any possible militants who are hiding," he said.A spokesman for al-Shabaab claimed the death toll was at least 20 guards and civilians.A witness told the AP he saw the attackers randomly shooting at hotel guests."They were shooting at everyone they could see. I escaped through the back door," he said.Al-Shabaab has repeatedly attacked hotels and other locations in the capital in a bid to topple Somalia's Western-backed government.Muslims in Somalia and around the world are observing Ramadan. In previous years, al-Shabaab has intensified its attacks during the holy month, often picking targets where people gather just before or after breaking their day-long period of fasting.Follow VICE News on Twitter: @vicenewsReuters contributed to this reportWatch the VICE News documentary Somalia: The Fight Against al Shabaab:UPDATE : heavy exchanging fire ongoing & ambulance rushing casualties to the hospital. #Mogadishu #Somalia pic.twitter.com/n44QYZRoIl
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