'Absolutely devastated': Tourists among 26 dead in horrific 14-hour attack on hotel

Associated Press
Updated

Tourists are among the 26 killed after Islamic extremists blew up the gate of a hotel with a car bomb and took over the building for more than 14 hours.

At least four gunmen stormed the Asasey Hotel in Somalia on Friday (local time) before troops shot dead all attackers inside the building.

Among the victims was a prominent Canadian-Somali journalist, three Kenyans, three Tanzanians, two Americans and a Briton.

More than 50 people, including two Chinese, were also injured the attack on the hotel, which is frequented by politicians.

Asasey Hotel in Kismayo after the attack Saturday July 13, 2019. Somali forces Saturday morning ended an all-night siege on a hotel in the southern port city of Kismayo, in which the death toll has risen to 26 people, including a prominent Canadian-Somali journalist and several foreigners, officials say.(AP Photo)
Asasey Hotel in Kismayo after the 14-hour attack. Source: AP

Somalia’a Islamic extremist rebels, al-Shabab, claimed responsibility for the attack.

Canadian journalist among the dead

Al-Shabab, which is allied to al-Qaida, often uses car bombs to infiltrate heavily fortified targets like the hotel in the city of Kismayo.

Canadian journalist Hodan Nalayeh and her husband, Farid Jama Suleiman, died in the attack, Mogadishu-based independent radio station Radio Dalsan confirmed to AP.

“I’m absolutely devastated by the news of the death of our dear sister Hodan Nalayeh and her husband in a terrorist attack in Somalia today,” Omar Suleiman, a Texas-based imam who knew the victim, wrote on social media.

A car destroyed during the attack at Asasey Hotel in Kismayo, Somalia after the attack Saturday July 13, 2019. Somali forces Saturday morning ended an all-night siege on a hotel in the southern port city of Kismayo, in which the death toll has risen to 26 people, including a prominent Canadian-Somali journalist and several foreigners, officials say.(AP Photo)
A car destroyed during the attack at Asasey Hotel in Kismayo, which left 26 dead. Source: AP

“What a loss to us. Her beautiful spirit shined through her work and the way she treated people,”

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 Nalayeh’s death on Twitter, saying she “highlighted the community’s positive stories and contributions in Canada” through her work as a journalist.

“We mourn her loss deeply, and all others killed in the #KismayoAttack,” he wrote.

This photo provided by Mona Nalayeh shows Canadian-Somalian journalist Hodan Nalaye in northern Somalian city of Las Anod. On Friday, July 12, 2019, the journalist dedicated to telling positive stories from a country suffering through decades of civil war, extremist attacks and famine was killed along with her husband, Farid Jama Suleiman, entrepreneur Mahad Nur and at least 23 others after a bomb exploded outside the Asasey Hotel in the Somalian city of Kismayo and gunmen stormed inside. Fifty-six other people were wounded in the attack, according to the Jubbaland regional president. (Mona Nalayeh via AP)
Canadian-Somalian journalist Hodan Nalaye was killed in the hotel attack. Source: AP

Islamic terrorism in Somalia

A top official of the African Union condemned the attack.

“This is an attack meant to derail progress in Somalia as the country rebuilds and consolidates the gains made on peace and security,” said Francisco Madeira, special representative of the chairman of the African Union Commission.

“Somalia has made tremendous progress in seizing territory and pushing out the terrorists from many places across the country.”

He said the African Union’s multinational force in Somalia will continue to work to stabilise the country.

Do you have a story tip? Email: newsroomau@yahoonews.com.

You can also follow us on Facebook, download the Yahoo News app from iTunes or Google Play and stay up to date with the latest news with Yahoo’s daily newsletter. Sign up here.

  • Up next
  • Up next
  • Up next
  • Up next

Latest stories