KISMAYO – The siege at the Tawakal hotel marked al-Shabab’s second major attack in Somalia this month amid an offensive against the group by the Somali National Army and allied militia in central Somalia.
In early October, a triple bombing in the town of Beledweyne left at least 20 people dead.
Abdisalam Guled, the director of Eagle Ranges Services, a Mogadishu-based security company, told VOA that al-Shabab is staging war in every part of Somalia and sending a message to the government in Mogadishu.
Guled said Sunday’s attack on the Tawakal Hotel in Kismayo shows that al-Shabab can attack anywhere any time. He said it also shows how al-Shabab has information about the people preparing themselves to fight the group. Guled says he has information that there were ongoing meetings in the hotel to discuss how al-Shabab could be fought.
VOA
