Somalia hotel truck bomb toll rises to 15

July 27, 2015 12:00 am • Last Updated: July 27, 2015 10:41 am

By Abdi Guled, Associated Press

Security forces secure the scene next to destroyed vehicles following a suicide car bomb attack in the capital Mogadishu, Somalia Sunday, July 26, 2015. A Somali police officer says a suicide car bomber has rammed his car into the protective perimeter outside a well-known hotel in the Somali capital Sunday, killing at least four people. Capt. Mohamed Hussein says the blast has caused an extensive damage on the Jazeera Hotel, which is often frequented by government officials, diplomats and foreigners. (AP Photo/Farah Abdi Warsameh)

MOGADISHU, Somalia — The massive truck bomb that killed 15 people, including a Kenyan diplomat, and wrecked Somalia's premier hotel has stunned the capital and raised fears Monday that the Islamic extremist al-Shabab rebels are escalating their violence.

Senior police official Capt. Mohammed Hussein said the toll has risen to 15. "This is a very worrying situation," he said as he stood outside the Hotel Jazeera near a dead body. "This happened despite all the security precautions in place."

In a visit to neighboring Ethiopia, U.S. President Barack Obama said Monday the bombing is a reminder "we have more work to do" in stemming terrorism in the region and that groups like al-Shabab offer nothing but destruction.

The scene at the site was grisly, with the front sheared off of the five-story luxury hotel that once housed diplomats, journalists and visiting heads of state. The damage echoed the decades of conflict in Mogadishu that once left much of the city as rubble.

Desperate relatives searched the bloodstained rubble with their bare hands looking for survivors while to the side lay a large sack of body parts.

The bomb was made of a ton of explosives and destroyed dozens of nearby homes, said police.

"It's a criminal and cowardly act but that will not disrupt our struggle toward peace," Somali Foreign Minister Abdisalam Omer told The Associated Press by phone from Djibouti.

The toll from the attack including a Kenyan diplomat, a Chinese embassy guard and two journalists, Abdihakin Mohamed Omar, a producer for Somali Broadcasting Corporation and Mohamed Abdikarim Moallim Adam, a reporter for the London based Universal television, who were driving near the hotel at the time of the attack.

Authorities say that the toll could have been much higher since the truck exploded outside the hotel's blast walls, but bombs of such magnitude are a new phenomenon.

Security officials link the attack to setbacks by al-Shabab in the field where they have been driven out of Mogadishu and strongholds in the countryside by combined African Union and Somali forces.

Mourners pray over the bodies of journalists Mohamed Abdikarim Moallim Adam, a reporter for the London-based Universal television, and Abdihakin Mohamed Omar, a producer for the Somali Broadcasting Corporation, at their funeral in the capital Mogadishu, Somalia Monday, July 27, 2015. Somali police say the toll for Sunday's massive truck bomb attack on the capital's premier hotel has risen to 15, including a Kenya diplomat, a Chinese embassy guard and three journalists. (AP Photo/Farah Abdi Warsameh)

An African Union (AU) soldier walks past the scene of destruction following a suicide car bomb attack in the capital Mogadishu, Somalia Sunday, July 26, 2015. A Somali police officer says a suicide car bomber has rammed his car into the protective perimeter outside a well-known hotel in the Somali capital Sunday, killing at least four people. Capt. Mohamed Hussein says the blast has caused an extensive damage on the Jazeera Hotel, which is often frequented by government officials, diplomats and foreigners. (AP Photo/Farah Abdi Warsameh)

Security forces secure the scene following a suicide car bomb attack in the capital Mogadishu, Somalia Sunday, July 26, 2015. A Somali police officer says a suicide car bomber has rammed his car into the protective perimeter outside a well-known hotel in the Somali capital Sunday, killing at least four people. Capt. Mohamed Hussein says the blast has caused an extensive damage on the Jazeera Hotel, which is often frequented by government officials, diplomats and foreigners. (AP Photo/Farah Abdi Warsameh)

Mourners carry the body of journalist Abdihakin Mohamed Omar, a producer for the Somali Broadcasting Corporation, at his funeral in the capital Mogadishu, Somalia Monday, July 27, 2015. Somali police say the toll for Sunday's massive truck bomb attack on the capital's premier hotel has risen to 15, including a Kenya diplomat, a Chinese embassy guard and three journalists. (AP Photo/Farah Abdi Warsameh)

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