Three suicide bombs kill at least 20 in Somalia, al-Shabab claims responsibility

At least 20 people were killed in a triple suicide bomb attack on Mogadishu hotel in Somalia on Friday, according to Somali police.

A Somali police officer says three car bombs exploded outside a hotel in the capital, Mogadishu.

Capt. Mohamed Hussein said the blasts appeared to be suicide bombs that were detonated near the perimeter wall of the Sahafi Hotel, which is located across the street from the Somali Police Force’s Criminal Investigations Department.

“The victims were travelling in public vehicles at the scene when the blasts and gunfire occurred. The death toll is sure to rise,” Ali Nur, a police officer in the city, told Reuters.

Somalia’s extremist rebels, al-Shabab, claimed responsibility for the bombs, according to the group’s Adalus radio station.

Mogadishu faces frequent bombings at the hands of al-Shabab, an al-Qaeda affiliate which has been fighting to overthrow the internationally backed Somali government for over a decade.

The Shabab were forced out of the capital by African Union troops in 2011.

But they still control parts of the countryside and attack government, military and civilian targets, seemingly at will, in Mogadishu and regional towns.