September 12, 2012
MOGADISHU — Three suicide bombers attacked a hotel Wednesday in downtown Mogadishu where newly-elected Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud was meeting with a delegation from the Kenyan foreign ministry. At least seven people were killed, including the bombers and at least one African Union soldier.
Kenyan Foreign Affairs Minister Sam Ongeri was reading a letter of congratulations from the Kenyan president, when the first bomber struck.
After the blast, a second suicide bomber tried to rush through the gate of the Jazeera Palace hotel, but African Union officials say he was shot and killed by AU forces before he could detonate his explosives.
Inside, on the top floor of the hotel, President Mohamud calmly continued his address to the Kenyan delegation and assembled members of the media.
“Things like what's happening now outside will continue for some time, but I'm sure and I'm confident it's the last things that's taking place here in Somalia," he said. "We have been hearing such events frequently, but this is a special case. We didn't hear it for the last couple of months even.”
Minutes later, another bomber struck on the opposite side of the hotel, which is just down the street from the Mogadishu airport and the African Union and United Nations compounds in the capital.
