This archive report was first published on 13 July 2019.
On July 13, 2019, the death toll from Somalia's Kismayu hotel attack rose to 26, according to Jubbaland region's president, Ahmed Mohamed Islam.
Islam revealed that among the 26 people killed in the attack, there were three Kenyans, one Canadian, one British, two Americans, and three Tanzanians. Two Chinese citizens were also wounded in the attack.
A presidential candidate for the upcoming regional elections was among those killed in the attack, Islam added.
Initially, police in Kismayu had reported a lower death toll of 13.
The attack on the upscale Asasey hotel began with a car bomb explosion that hit the main entrance, followed by gunfire.
Two reporters, Mohamed Omar Sahal and Hodan Naleyeh, were among the dead, confirmed by the Somali Journalists Syndicate.
The Al-Qaeda linked Al-Shabaab group claimed responsibility for the attack.
Local leaders and lawmakers had been discussing an upcoming Kismayu election when the attack occurred.
Federal legislators, including Mohamed Ali alias Ana Nuug and Senator Iftin Hassan Basto, were rescued from the scene of the attack.
Kismayu, located about 500km south of the capital Mogadishu, is the commercial capital of Jubbaland and remains a major security threat due to its partial control by Al-Shabaab.
