Nine people killed by Al-Shabaab in hotel attack in Somalia
On Sunday, October 23, militants attacked a hotel in Kismayo, a city in southern Somalia. The attackers, who were later identified as members of Al-Shabaab, an Islamic extremist group, set off a car bomb near the hotel and then stormed the property.
The assault began at 12:45pm, when the car laden with explosives rammed into the hotel entrance. The siege lasted until 7:00pm, when the attackers were stopped by security forces. There were four total attackers, including one suicide bomber who detonated an explosive vest. The remaining three attackers were killed by police.
The attack was eerily similar to another hotel attack staged by Al-Shabaab on August 19. The terror group besieged a hotel in Mogadishu for over 30 hours. Twenty-one people were killed and over 117 were wounded in the August attack.
Al-Shabaab poses a considerable threat to Christians in both Somalia and surrounding countries, especially Kenya. Christian communities in Kenya, which shares a border with Somalia, are frequently targeted when Al-Shabaab militants make excursions into Kenyan territory.
Please pray for the families of the victims of the two hotel attacks, as well as for the Christian communities suffering from attacks in Kenya.
Source: persecution.org
