UPDATE: At least 23 killed in Mogadishu

Photo: AP

Mogadishu, Somalia -- Various news services have different accounts of the number of dead killed in Somalia's capital. The AP says 18 were killed, ABC News says 17 and the LA Times says 13 are dead. 

UPDATE: The number of dead, according to Mogadishu police, has been raised to 23 and the number wounded 30.

It isn't unusual to be confused in the beginning of such a horrible event, but one thing we know for certain is that al-Shabaab is taking credit for the attack.

A suicide car bomb was detonated outside a popular hotel on Saturday killing at least 18 and wounding at least 30 people. Gunfire could be heard inside, police said. A second device exploded minutes later at around 5:30 p.m. 

The hotel is located in the neighborhood of the presidential palace, located about 600 meters away (about 1968 feet).

The attack occurred outside the Nasa-Hablod hotel, a place often frequented by politicians and members of the city's elite, Capt. Mohamed Hussein explained to the press.

Photo: AP

At about 6:00 p.m. Capt. Hussein said that a senior Somali police colonel and a lawmaker were killed in the attack.

Around 6:30 p.m. was when al-Shabab claimed responsibility for the attack. And just about 15 minutes later, the terror group said there were other fighters in the building and gunfire could be heard. And about 45 minutes later, police said a third blast was heard inside the hotel.

It was believed to be five attackers in total and of these, two have been killed.

Just about 2 weeks ago a truck bomb killed 350 people in the name of Islam.


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