Lower House: Our staff not involved in Al-Shabaab hotel raid

MOGADISHU, Somalia - The Lower House of Somalia Parliament has denied claims that one of its staff was involved directly in planning and attacking the SYL Hotel within Mogadishu on Friday, following the circulation of an Identification Card belonging to the worker.

Thursday's attack left at least three people dead and several critically injured following a 13-hour siege at the facility. All five attackers were killed by elite security teams who were dispatched to the site minutes after the attack, police said.

Some reports widely shared on social media show an Identification card of Liban Mohamed Mohamud, a staff of Parliament. Sources say attackers used the ID to access the site before unleashing from all directions, leaving their people dead.

Mohamud is a technician with the Parliament of Somalia. The Identification Card, officials said, was used to navigate checkpoints within the city. Parliamentary staff have some sort of immunity from scrutiny while using critical facilities.

Abdirahman Mohamed Abdulle Jaabari, the Secretary General of Parliament, said that the ID used by the attackers was fake. According to him, the said Parliament does not have a staff by that name in Parliamentary records.

The accusations against the parliament on social media come after a driver of the former speaker of the Somali Parliament, Mohamed Mursal Sheikh Abdirahman, joined al-Shabab in December 2022.

The National Intelligence Security Agency (NISA) has initiated a probe into the matter, and Al-Shabaab took responsibility for responsibility for the attack. Those responsible, the government noted, will face the rule of law presented in the constitution of the land.

GAROWE ONLINE