Death toll rises to 24 in Mogadishu hotel attack

Somali officials say security forces have killed the gunmen who attacked a popular Mogadishu hotel, bringing the death toll from the assault to 24. Security Minister Abdirisak Omar Mohamed informed that security forces killed the three gunmen during a shootout in the Ambassador Hotel Thursday morning, and rescued 57 hostages the attackers had held overnight. […]

Somali officials say security forces have killed the gunmen who attacked a popular Mogadishu hotel, bringing the death toll from the assault to 24.
Security Minister Abdirisak Omar Mohamed informed that security forces killed the three gunmen during a shootout in the Ambassador Hotel Thursday morning, and rescued 57 hostages the attackers had held overnight.
The attack began late Wednesday afternoon with a car bomb blast outside the hotel that killed a fourth attacker.  Afterward, gunmen went floor to floor in the hotel, opening fire on hotel guests.
Omar says at least 17 people – 12 civilians, three security guards and two members of parliament – were killed in or around the hotel. The director of Mogadishu’s Madina Hospital said three other shooting victims brought to the hospital died of their wounds.