At least four people were killed and 15 wounded in the Somali capital on Friday after militants launched what appeared to be coordinated attacks on two hotels, security officials said. The assailants were armed with a rocket-propelled grenade launcher and other weapons, targeting Hotel Wehliye and Hotel Siyad in the heart of Mogadishu, dpa reported. Hotel Siyad is close to the presidential palace, and the siege there was still ongoing. A suicide bomber first drove his car into Hotel Wehliye, and gunmen then stormed the building. "Some of the fighters were able to move into the hotel," police officer Mohamed Dahir told dpa. Security officials said three assailants were shot dead outside Hotel Wehliye by its guards, and that attack had ended. "Our security forces surrounded them. Suicide car bombings [were] also involved in both attacks on these two hotels," he added. Medics at Madina hospital said they were treating 15 people wounded in both attacks.
