Bomb and Gunfire Rock Somali Hotel, Terrorists Claim Responsibility

Somali security officers secure the site of a car bomb explosion as paramedics await to rescue the injured in the Kilometre 4 area of Mogadishu, in Somalia, on Jan. 31, 2021. Feisal Omar/Reuters

MOGADISHU—A suspected suicide car bomb exploded on Sunday in Somalia’s capital and was followed by a shootout between terrorists and security forces at a hotel, causing an unknown number of casualties, witnesses and authorities said.

The terror group al Shabaab, which is linked to al-Qaeda and often carries out bombings in its war on Somalia’s government, claimed responsibility via its radio station.