[On Aug. 25, Al Qaida attacked an army barrack in the North African
state of Mauritania. Officials said an AQIM operative was shot before he
managed to ram a truck full of explosives into the military facility.]
The attackers were identified as members of the Al Qaida-aligned Al
Shebab movement, which contains numerous foreign fighters. In 2010, Al
Shebab intensified its offensive against the pro-Western Transitional
Federal Government in Mogadishu.
Officials said Al Qaida fighters had been dressed in police uniforms as
they entered the Hotel Mona. The fighters were said to have opened fire
toward guests in their rooms, most of them Somali officials, and blew
themselves up to avoid capture.
"They have no motive other than to terrorize the Somali people,"
Information Minister Abu Al Rahman Yarisow said. "This is a deplorable act
in this holy month of Ramadan. It shows their brutality and lack of respect
for humanity."
Hours before the attack, Al Shebab launched an offensive throughout
Mogadishu in which dozens of people were killed. Diplomats said
Western-trained and -equipped Somali forces were unable to stop Al Shebab,
which has already captured large parts of central and southern Somalia.
"This operation is meant to eliminate the invading Christians and their
apostate government in Somalia," Al Shebab spokesman Ali Rage said. "The
fighting will continue and, God willing, the holy warriors will prevail."
The African Union has deployed more than 6,300 troops in Mogadishu to
protect the government. The AU has pledged to send another 4,000 troops to
Somalia.
"It is unfortunate that those opposed to the peace process continue to
kill innocent civilians even during the fasting month of Ramadan which is
one of the key pillars of the Islamic faith which they claim to profess,"
the AU said.