12 killed in Somalian hotel terror siege

The explosion took place in Mogadishu. File pic

At least 12 people have been killed in Somalia's capital Mogadishu after al Qaeda-linked militants attacked a hotel, seizing hostages that authorities were battling to free nearly 20 hours later, an intelligence officer said on Saturday.

The attackers blasted their way into the Hayat Hotel on Friday evening with two car bombs before opening fire. Somalia's Al Shabaab insurgents have claimed responsibility. "So far, we have confirmed 12 people, mostly civilians, died," Mohammed, an intelligence officer told Reuters.

The gunmen were holding an unknown number of hostages on the second floor of the facility, he added preventing authorities from using heavy weapons. They had also bombed out the stairs to make it harder to access certain floors, he said.

The detonations sent huge plumes of smoke over the busy junction on Friday night, and the sound of gunfire still crackled across the capital by 0700 GMT on Saturday. Forces tried to wrest control of the hotel back from the militants.

UN split over Taliban travel

The divided UN Security Council failed to reach a consensus on extending travel exemptions for 13 Taliban officials now ruling Afghanistan as they expired at midnight on Friday. Russia and China want all 13 to continue to travel.

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