Somalia hotel siege by Al-Shabab ends after 30 hours, 13 civilians killed: Report

Somali forces have ended a nearly 30-hour siege of a hotel by Al-Shabab fighters in the country's capital Mogadishu, a security commander told AFP.

At least 13 civilians were reportedly killed and several injured in the siege which began with the Al-Qaeda affiliate fighters unleashing a gun and bomb attack on the popular Hayat Hotel on Friday evening.

"The security forces have ended the siege now and the gunmen are dead, we've had no incoming gunfire from the building in the past hour," the commander was quoted as saying by the AFP.

The government has not yet released details of the total number of casualties be it on the part of civilians, security forces or Al-Shabab fighters.

The security forces are yet to clear the luxury hotel of explosives that may have been planted or left behind by the militants.

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The attack by the Islamic extremist group al-Shabab is the latest of its frequent attempts to strike places visited by government officials. The attack on the hotel is the first major terror incident in Mogadishu since Somalia's new leader, Hassan Sheikh Mohamud, took over in May.

With agency inputs