International
Mohamed Sheikh Nor / AP
A suicide bomber rammed a truck rigged with explosives into the outer wall of one of Mogadishu's most secure hotels on Sunday, killing at least 15 people and severely damaging the building, local authorities said.
The Al-Qaeda-linked group Al-Shabab claimed responsibility for the attack, which also injured 20 people. The walled, luxury Jazeera Hotel is considered the most secure in Somalia's capital and is frequented by diplomats, foreigners and visiting heads of state.
The blast killed one armed guard at the Chinese embassy inside the hotel, as well as three embassy staffers, the Chinese Foreign Ministry said Monday in a statement online.
"This is really scary — destroying the Jazeera hotel like this means no blast walls can make anyone safe," said bystander Yusuf Mohammed.
The blast destroyed at least eight rooms and stunned the residents of the Somali capital.
"They wanted to level the entire hotel building," said Mohamed Ali, a Somali police officer outside the hotel.
The Jazeera hotel has been the target of Al-Shabab attacks in the past, including in 2012 when suicide bombers stormed the hotel while President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud was inside.
Sunday's bombing followed two other attacks by Al-Shabab on Mogadishu hotels earlier this month.
Nervous soldiers fired in the air to disperse a crowd who surged toward the hotel after the blast as medical workers transported wounded victims into awaiting ambulances.
The attack comes as Somali forces backed by troops from the African Union (AU) have launched an offensive, dubbed Operation Jubba Corridor, against Al-Shabab fighters, pushing them out of two key towns. The coalition already drove the group out of the capital.
The Al-Qaeda linked group often carries out such attacks when it feels under pressure by coalition forces.
In a statement issued after the attack, Al-Shabab said the operation was carried out in retaliation for the deaths of dozens of civilians at the hands of Ethiopian forces, which are part of the AU force. In June, Al-Shabab forces attacked an AU military base in Lego, about 60 miles northwest of Mogadishu.
The armed group said the hotel was targeted because it hosts "Western" embassies, which are helping to coordinate the offensive.
The attack came as President Barack Obama was leaving neighboring Kenya for Ethiopia. The president's Africa visit has included discussions about how to deal with the threat of Al-Shabab.
While in Nairobi on Saturday, Obama said that although Al-Shabab had been "weakened," the overall security threat posed by the group remained.
"We have been able to decrease their effective control within Somalia and have weakened those networks operating here in East Africa," he said.
"That doesn't mean the problem is solved."
Wire services
Nairobi wants Dadaab, the world's largest refugee camp, relocated to Somalia in order to help rid itself of Al-Shabab
The militant group started as a localized anti-government movement and, over time, became violent
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