On Sunday 23 October, militants attacked a hotel in Kismayo, a city in southern Somalia.
The attackers, who were later identified as members of al-Shabaab, an Islamic extremist group, set off a car bomb near the hotel and then stormed the property.
The assault began just before 1pm, when a car laden with explosives rammed into the hotel’s entrance. The siege lasted until 7pm, when the attackers were stopped by security forces.
There were four total attackers, including one suicide bomber who detonated an explosive vest. The remaining three attackers were killed by police.
Nine civilians were killed and 47 people were wounded in the attack. The casualties included students leaving a nearby school.
The attack was eerily similar to another hotel attack by al-Shabaab on 19 August, in which the terror group besieged a hotel in Mogadishu for over 30 hours. Twenty-one people were killed and over 117 were wounded in the August attack.
Al-Shabaab poses a considerable threat to Christians in both Somalia and surrounding countries, especially Kenya. Christian communities in Kenya, which shares a border with Somalia, are frequently targeted when al-Shabaab militants make excursions into Kenyan territory.
Source: International Christian Concern
Please Pray
Pray for the victim’s families and for the quick recovery of all those injured in the attack.
Pray for the courage and strengthening of other Christian communities who are suffering from persecution in Somalia and Kenya.
Pray for frontline workers in these areas who are under continual threat of attack.