The Dayah Hotel attack occurred on 25 January 2017 when a hotel in the Somali capital city Mogadishu was attacked by al-Shabaab gunmen and car bombs, killing 28 people and injuring 43 others.[1] Taking place shortly after 08:00 on a Wednesday morning, the attack began when a car filled with explosives rammed the gate of the Dayah Hotel, a luxury hotel popular with politicians, and detonated. Immediately after, four armed militants attempted to storm the hotel – however Somali security guards shot the men dead before they reached it. As emergency services and journalists converged on the scene, a second car bomb detonated, causing more casualties.[2][3][4]
Radio Andalus, a station with links to Al-Shabaab, reported that "well-armed mujahideen attacked the hotel, and now they are fighting inside the hotel." The attack came shortly before the date of the country's presidential election was due to be announced.[5]
