Cape Town — A suicide bomber rammed a vehicle loaded with explosives into the Asasey Hotel in the southern port town of Kismayo on Friday, before several heavily armed gunmen forced their way inside, shooting as they went. Dalsan Radio reports that many of the guests at the hotel were politicians and traders who were there ahead of upcoming regional elections.
According to the BBC, Somali journalist Hodan Nalayeh, her husband Farid, three Kenyans, three Tanzanians, two Americans and and a Briton were among those killed.
Islamist group Al-Shabab has claimed responsibility for the attack.