Somali MPs among 32 killed in Mogadishu hotel massacre - Suicide bomber and gunmen dressed in army uniforms storm hotel, triggering deadly shootout with police in Somali capital

story by Guardian

At least 32 people were killed when gunmen and a suicide bomber dressed in army uniforms stormed a hotel in Mogadishu today in an attack that triggered an hour-long gun battle in the Somali capital.

Six members of parliament who were staying at the hotel, an 11-year-old shoe-shine boy and a woman selling tea outside were among the dead. Another MP staying at the Muna hotel said there were "dead bodies all over" and described the scene as a massacre.

A hotel worker who fled the building, which is located a half-mile from the presidential palace, said one of the attackers had blown himself up.

The attack came amid further fighting that began in Mogadishu yesterday. At least 40 civilians have been killed and 130 wounded, according to the head of Mogadishu's ambulance service, Ali Muse.

The violence broke out after the spokesman for Somalia's most dangerous militant group declared a "massive war" on what he labelled "invaders", a reference to the 6,000 peacekeeping troops from the African Union propping up the weak Somali government.

The group, al-Shabab, said it had carried out last month's twin bombings in Uganda's capital that killed 76 people who were watching the World Cup final. It said the attacks were in retaliation for Uganda's deployment of troops with the AU.

Uganda said last month that it was willing to send 1,200 peacekeeping troops to Somalia to reinforce the 6,000-strong Amisom mission sent by AU countries. Al-Shabab has said it will continue to carry out attacks in Uganda and Burundi, in east-central Africa, as long as those countries send troops to Somalia.

Suicide attacks are relatively rare in Somalia, although al-Shabab has increased their use in recent years. Veterans of the Iraq and Afghanistan conflicts are believed to be helping to train the group's fighters.

The AU force is engaged in frequent fights with the Islamist insurgents that control much of southern and central Somalia. Al-Shabab controls around 80% of Somalia and is thought to number up to 7,000 armed men, with a main force of about 3,000 guerrilla fighters. It has an armed wing, known as the army of suffering, and a religious police force, known as the army of morality.

Hizb al-Islam, another group challenging the government, is threatening to attack and seize several districts and villages under control of the central government.

Somalia has been in a state of almost constant conflict since the collapse of the government of Siad Barre in 1991. The US and other countries say al-Shabab is linked to al-Qaida and consider the group a terrorist organisation. The rise of Islamist militancy in Somalia has alarmed the international community amid fears that it will spark regional unrest.