The June 2016 Mogadishu attacks were two similar attacks on hotels that occurred in Mogadishu, Somalia on 1 June and 25 June 2016. Dozens of people were killed in the attacks and many more were wounded.
The Ambassador Hotel was targeted on 1 June, and the Hotel Naso-Hablod on 25 June.
1 June attack
The attack came shortly after Somali officials announced that they had killed senior Al-Shabaab member Mohamed Kuno, who is believed to have been the mastermind behind the Garissa University attack. 16 other militants were killed along with Kuno.[2]
The attack involved at least three attackers, one of whom was killed detonating the car bomb and the other two died after being shot by police inside the hotel.[3] Most of the victims were pedestrians and drivers on the road on which the car bomb exploded.[4] Also among the deceased victims included two Somali MPs: Abdullahi Jama Kabaweyne and Mohamoud Mohamed Gure.[5]
The attack is one in a long list of hotel attacks committed by al-Shabaab in Mogadishu since 2015.
The attack occurred shortly before Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan was supposed to arrive in a hotel along the same road as the Hotel Ambassador.[6]
25 June attack
On 25 June 2016, Al-Shabaab conducted a similar attack on another hotel in Mogadishu. A suicide bomber detonated a car bomb outside the hotel, after which gunmen stormed the hotel and took hostages before being killed in a shootout with police. At least 15 people were killed, including State Environment Minister Bur’i Mohamed Hamza, and more than 25 were injured.[7]
The hotel attacked was the Naso-Hablod hotel, which is frequented by tourists and politicians. At least four men were involved in the attack.[8] The victims were mostly civilians on the street where the car bomb exploded,[7] but also included some of the hotel's security guards.[8]
30 June attack
On 30 June 2016, at least 20 civilians were killed when a roadside bomb went off in Lafoole town, southwest of Mogadishu, blowing up a packed mini-bus that was passing by. Although no group claim responsibility, Al-Shabaab is suspected.[9]
See also
- 2015 Central Hotel attack
- Makka al-Mukarama hotel attack
- 2015 Jazeera Palace Hotel attack
- January 2016 Mogadishu attack
- February 2016 Mogadishu attack
References
- ^ "16 dead, 55 injured in Somalia hotel attack". RTÉ.ie. 2 June 2016.
- ^ "Garissa university attack plotter 'dead'". BBC News. June 2016. Retrieved June 1, 2016.
- ^ "Gunmen attack Mogadishu hotel, Somali officials say". CNN. June 2016.
- ^ Dearden, Lizzie. "Mogadishu hotel attack: At least three dead after as al-Shabaab launch bomb and shooting assault in Somalia". independent.co.uk. The Independent. Retrieved June 1, 2016.
- ^ "Somalia attack: MPs among dead in hotel blast and gun raid". BBC News. June 2016. Retrieved June 1, 2016.
- ^ "Toll rises in al-Shabab attack on Mogadishu hotel".
- ^ a b Nor, Omar (25 June 2016). "Gunmen storm hotel in Mogadishu; 15 killed, police say". cnn.com. CNN. Retrieved June 25, 2016.
- ^ a b "Somalia: Deadly al-Shabab attack on Mogadishu hotel". BBC News. 25 June 2016.
- ^ "At least 18 killed by a roadside bomb in Somalia". Reuters UK. 30 June 2016.
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