MOGADISHU, Somalia — A protracted assault by Al Shabab militants on a Mogadishu hotel frequented by government ministers resulted in the death of at least nine civilians, including one police officer, according to Somali police on Monday — the militants' latest bloody attack in the capital.
The six attackers were also killed, but the 22-hour siege, which took place a few streets away from the president's office in downtown Mogadishu, provided new evidence that militants can strike Somalia's political elite even in places where they are most closely guarded.
After evening prayers, six fighters from Al Shabab, an extremist militant group that swears allegiance to Al Qaeda, stormed the Villa Rosa hote
According to witnesses, at least one assailant detonated a suicide vest while others opened fire with guns on the guests.
According to local news reports, at least three government ministers were present, including the internal security minister, Mohamed Ahmed Sheik Ali, who was injured after leaping from a window to escape the assault.
Somali troops from a C.I.A.-trained paramilitary unit known as Gaashaan and a Turkish-trained unit known as Haramad led efforts to flush the militants from the besieged hotel on Monday, when bursts of gunfire and explosions rang out across the city.
The siege ended after the six attackers were killed, according to a police spokesman, Sadik Duudishe, who added that security forces had rescued at least 60 people, including the country's fisheries minister.
On Monday, Al Shabab claimed responsibility for the attack on social media, posting updates throughout the day to emphasize that the assault was ongoing.
In response to a military offensive by Somali forces and pro-government militias in rural areas previously dominated by the militants in central Somalia, the militants have increased their bombing campaign in Mogadishu in recent months.
Government officials' favorite hotels are frequently targeted.
During a 30-hour siege on the Hayat Hotel in Mogadishu in August, at least 21 people were killed and more than 100 were injured — the largest such assault since President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud was elected in May.
That siege was followed by Al Shabab's deadliest attack in five years on Oct. 29, when two car bombs outside the Ministry of Education killed at least 100 people and injured more than 300.
On Monday, as fighting erupted inside the Villa Rosa hotel, the surrounding area was cordoned off, and police did not release any information about casualties until late in the day. However, several Somalis reported family members killed on Facebook, and one government minister described his narrow escape.
The state minister for the environment, Adam Aw Hirsi, said in an interview that he escaped the hotel through a back door when gunfire and explosions erupted at 7.30 p.m. on Sunday.
"Right after we left the evening congregational prayers, there was a massive deafening explosion that shook the foundation of the building, shattering glass windows," he said in a text message.
Mr. Hirsi stated that he and several others were led through the hotel's back entrance into an adjacent graveyard, where they were able to flee to safety. Mr. Hirsi, who hails from Gedo, 230 miles to the northwest, stated that he has been a resident of the hotel since 2020.
"I knew where the back exits were, and I used one," he explained.
Other government officials, including the minister of fisheries, Ahmed Hassan Aden, and a senator, Dunia Mohamed, were rescued after fleeing through windows, according to police.
A graduation ceremony for a private university took place on Monday at the National Theater, near the besieged hotel, demonstrating how militant chaos has become normalized in Mogadishu.
According to a government minister, Shabab militants attacked a military base in the village of Qayib in the central Galgaduud region on Friday, resulting in violent clashes as the army attempted to repel them.
Hussein Mohamed contributed reporting from Mogadishu, and Declan Walsh contributed from Nairobi, Kenya.
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