Somali Islamist group al Shabaab claimed responsibility on Sunday for an attack on a hotel in Mogadishu, saying it was responding to assaults on the group by an African Union force and the Somali government.
“We are behind the attack,” Sheikh Abdiasis Abu Musab, al Shabaab’s military operation spokesman, told Reuters, saying it was targeting “enemies”, such as members of the AU’s AMISOM force and government officials.