At least 10 people were killed and more than 40 were injured Wednesday after gunmen and a suicide bomber attacked a popular hotel in Somalia's capital of Mogadishu. Officials say the death toll will likely increase.
Somali special forces intervened, but it’s unclear if there are any attackers still in the hotel. Two of those killed were prominent Somali lawmakers.
Al-Qaeda-affiliated group Al-Shabab claimed responsibility for the attack. Al-Shabab has carried out several deadly attacks across eastern Africa, including an attack on a Kenyan university in 2015 that killed 147 people.
The attack comes on the heels of a U.S. Department of Defense announcement that a recent airstrike targeted senior Al-Shabab commander Abdullahi Haji Daud.
While he didn’t confirm Daud's death, Pentagon Press Secretary Peter Cook said the strike "will disrupt near-term attack planning, potentially saving many innocent lives."
This video includes clips from Al Jazeera and Al-Shabab and images from Getty Images.
