Abu Dhabi (agencies)
The UAE has strongly condemned the terrorist attack that targeted a hotel in the city of Jowhar in southern Somalia, which resulted in deaths and injuries, including government officials, and extensive damage to nearby buildings and shops.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation affirmed that the UAE expresses its strong condemnation of these criminal acts, and its permanent rejection of all forms of violence and terrorism aimed at destabilizing security and stability and inconsistent with humanitarian values and principles.
The Ministry expressed its sincere condolences and sympathy to the government and people of the sisterly Federal Republic of Somalia and to the families and families of the victims of this heinous crime, and its wishes for a speedy recovery to all the injured.
Yesterday, the Somali police reported that a powerful car bomb exploded outside a hotel in central Somalia, killing at least 5 people, in an attack claimed by terrorists allied with Al-Qaeda.
The blast wounded 14 others and destroyed buildings adjacent to the hotel in the city of Jowhar, regarding 90 km north of the capital, Mogadishu.
Police said a car packed with explosives rammed the exterior wall of the Noor Doub Hotel, which is frequented by state representatives and other local officials.
Muhammad Ali, an officer in the Jowhar police, stated that the attack caused “the death of five civilians, including women who work in the hotel and security guards.”
He added that “14 other people were wounded, some of whom were inside buildings not close to the hotel.”
The Somali Al-Shabab movement, linked to Al-Qaeda, claimed responsibility for the attack in a statement posted on a pro-terrorist website.
Prime Minister Hamza Abdi Berri, whose appointment was approved by the Somali parliament in June following a government reshuffle, sent his condolences to the relatives of the victims, and instructed to provide treatment to the wounded.
Police officer Muhammad Ali described the blast as “the largest ever in Jowhar” and caused extensive damage to buildings in the city.
Mahd Ibrahim, a resident of Jowhar, said that the explosion caused shrapnel to fall and clouds of smoke and dust rose into the air, pointing out that its force destroyed the roof of his house.
He added, “I have never seen such destruction, and I saw some bodies being pulled out from under the wreckage of the part of the hotel that collapsed.”
Another witness, Abd al-Rahman Shabello, said flying debris hit passersby.
He added: “I saw two civilians wounded by shrapnel, not far from the hotel. The force of the explosion was felt in every house across the city.”
Al-Shabab has waged a bloody insurgency in Somalia for more than a decade. It is still able to carry out major attacks, despite the long-running military operation of the African Union force to weaken the militants.
