Official 1 of 15 slain at hotel in Somalia

MOGADISHU, Somalia — A Somali Cabinet minister is among the 15 killed in an Islamic extremist attack on a hotel in the capital, police say.

Four attackers also died in the assault that was claimed by al-Shabab, Somalia’s militant rebels who are allied to al-Qaida.

State Minister for the Environment Buri Hamza was among those killed, said Capt. Mohamed Hussein, a senior Somali police officer. Hamza died when his hotel room collapsed Saturday because of the powerful car bomb that extremists used to blast their way into the Nasa-Hablod Hotel.

At least 34 people were injured, according to police and hospital sources.

It was the second attack on a hotel since the beginning of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan in early June. Both attacks have been claimed by al-Shabab.

The attacks have raised concerns about the security of hotels in the seaside capital that has seen numerous attacks by al-Shabab in recent years.

“The trend and lethality of such attacks suggest how vulnerable the security of hotels and the city in general are now,” said Mohamed Sheikh Abdi, a Somali political analyst.

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