MOGADISHU, Somalia (AP) – The Latest on Somalia’s hotel siege (all times local):
4:35 p.m.
Somalia’s cabinet on Sunday voted to fire the police and intelligence chiefs in response to a recommendation by Somalia’s security minister Mohamed Abukar Islow after two serious extremist attacks in the capital this month.
Armed soldiers talk each other in Mogadishu, Somalia, Sunday, Oct 29, 2017, after a car bomb detonated Saturday night. A Somali police officer said security forces ended a night-long siege at a Mogadishu hotel by attackers who stormed the building after a suicide car bomber detonated an explosives-laden vehicle at the entrance gate. (AP Photo/Farah Abdi Warsameh)
Islow said in a statement that five people have been arrested in connection with the massive bomb on October 14 which killed over 350 people.
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4:10 p.m.
Somalia’s government has fired the country’s police and intelligence chiefs in the wake of Saturday’s deadly extremist attack which killed at least 23 people and wounded more than 30 others.
A statement from the Prime Minister’s office issued Sunday said police chief Abdullahi Mohamed Ali and Gen. Abdihakim Said were sacked after the cabinet voted to drop both officials.
The firings came after Somali security forces ended a night-long siege at a Mogadishu hotel by five extremist attackers who stormed the building after a suicide car bomber detonated an explosives-laden vehicle at the entrance gate on Saturday afternoon. The attack killed 23 people.
Troops regained control of the Nasa-Hablod hotel on Sunday morning, having killed three attackers and captured two alive, said Capt. Mohamed Hussein.
Al-Shabab, Africa’s deadliest Islamic extremist group, quickly claimed responsibility for the attack.
Saturday’s attack came two weeks after more than 350 people were killed in a massive truck bombing on a busy Mogadishu street in Somalia’s worst-ever attack.
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AP journalist Abdi Guled contributed to this report.
Somali soldiers stand near the wreckage of vehicles in Mogadishu, Somalia, Sunday, Oct 29, 2017, after a car bomb detonated Saturday night. A Somali police officer said security forces ended a night-long siege at a Mogadishu hotel by attackers who stormed the building after a suicide car bomber detonated an explosives-laden vehicle at the entrance gate. (AP Photo/Farah Abdi Warsameh)
Rescue workers stand near the wreckage of vehicles in Mogadishu, Somalia, Sunday, Oct 29, 2017, after a car bomb was detonated Saturday night. A Somali police officer said security forces ended a night-long siege at a Mogadishu hotel by attackers who stormed the building after a suicide car bomber detonated an explosives-laden vehicle at the entrance gate. (AP Photo/Farah Abdi Warsameh)
Rescue workers stand near the wreckage of vehicles in Mogadishu, Somalia, Sunday, Oct 29, 2017, after a car bomb was detonated Saturday night. A Somali police officer said security forces ended a night-long siege at a Mogadishu hotel by attackers who stormed the building after a suicide car bomber detonated an explosives-laden vehicle at the entrance gate. (AP Photo/Farah Abdi Warsameh)
EDS NOTE; GRAPHIC CONTENT – A dead body is carried in Mogadishu, Somalia, Sunday, Oct. 29, 2017, after a car bomb detonated Saturday night. A Somali police officer said security forces ended a night-long siege at a Mogadishu hotel by attackers who stormed the building after a suicide car bomber detonated an explosives-laden vehicle at the entrance gate. (AP Photo/Farah Abdi Warsameh)
A dead body is carried in Mogadishu, Somalia, Sunday, Oct. 29, 2017, after a car bomb detonated Saturday night. A Somali police officer said security forces ended a night-long siege at a Mogadishu hotel by attackers who stormed the building after a suicide car bomber detonated an explosives-laden vehicle at the entrance gate. (AP Photo/Farah Abdi Warsameh)
Somali soldiers stand near the wreckage of vehicles Sunday, Oct 29, 2017, after a car bomb which was detonated Saturday night in Mogadishu, Somalia. A Somali police officer said security forces ended a night-long siege at a Mogadishu hotel by attackers who stormed the building after a suicide car bomber detonated an explosives-laden vehicle at the entrance gate. (AP Photo/Farah Abdi Warsameh)
Somalis carry away a man injured after a car bomb was detonated in Mogadishu, Somalia Saturday, Oct 28, 2017. A suicide car bomb exploded outside a popular hotel in Somalia’s capital on Saturday, killing at least 10 people and wounding more than 11, while gunfire could be heard inside, police said. A second blast was heard in the area minutes later. (AP Photo/Farah Abdi Warsameh)
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