31 Killed in Somalia Hotel Attack

Islamic militants sought to topple government
By Jane Yager,  Newser Staff
Posted Aug 24, 2010 5:57 PM CDT
31 Killed in Somalia Hotel Attack
A Somali policeman is brought to a local hospital on the back of a truck in Mogadishu, Somalia, after being injured during fighting between government forces and Islamists in Mogadishu yesterday.   (AP Photo/Farah Abdi Warsameh)

Two Islamic militants opened fire in a hotel in the Somali capital yesterday, killing at least 31 people. Six members of Somalia's parliament were among the dead. After firing randomly into the hotel, the attackers blew themselves up as government security forces approached.

The brazen attack came the morning after militant group al Shabaab, which has been blamed for the assault, declared a "final war" to topple the fragile Somali government. The government does not, however, appear to be in danger of imminent collapse in the wake of the attack, the Wall Street Journal reports. (More Somalia stories.)

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