MOGADISHU, Somalia — At least 26 people were killed and 56 others injured in a terrorist attack at a hotel in the Somali port city of Kismayo, according to the presidential office of Jubaland state.

The victims included three Kenyan nationals, three from Tanzania, two from the United States, and one person from Canada, Britain and China, respectively, the office said in a statement released Saturday.

Armed assailants stormed the hotel on Friday following a suicide attack on the building, and then holed up inside, police officer Mohamed Hussein said, adding that all five of them had been killed in the subsequent siege.

Local official Abdinor Ibrahim, meanwhile, said that several attackers may have been able to escape during the siege.

The al-Shabaab terrorist group claimed responsibility for the attack on Radio Andalus, a pro-insurgent broadcaster, while the incident was ongoing.

Also among those killed was a prominent Somali activist, Hodan Nalayeh, and her husband, according to a politician who survived the attack.

Nalayeh, who was born in Somalia but also has Canadian citizenship, was also a journalist and TV producer. She had recently returned to her homeland from Canada.

Al-Shabaab controls wide swathes of southern and central Somalia, regularly carrying out attacks that target security forces and civilians. The al-Qaeda-linked Sunni fundamentalists are fighting for dominance over the impoverished Horn of Africa country.

U.S. forces and African Union peacekeepers support the government in its fight against the terrorist group.

Related Headlines


Only subscribers are eligible to post comments. Please subscribe or login first for digital access. Here’s why.

Use the form below to reset your password. When you've submitted your account email, we will send an email with a reset code.