Attack Targets Officials In Somali Capital, Dozens Killed

February 20, 2015

Reports from Somalia say at least 10 people have been killed in an attack on a hotel in the center of the capital, Mogadishu.

A lawmaker and the deputy mayor were reported killed in the February 20 attack, while a deputy prime minister was among the injured.

Police said one person rammed his explosives-laden vehicle into the gate of the Central Hotel, and another suicide bomber then entered the facility and blew himself up.

Al-Shabaab Islamist militants have said they were behind the attack.

The Al-Qaeda linked group is battling the UN-backed government for control of Somalia.

It has been driven out of the country's major towns but still controls rural areas in the south.

Based on reporting by AFP, AP, and Reuters