Somali security forces put an end to her thriller about the invasion of the jihadist organization “Shebab” in the hotel “Hayat” in Mogadishuabout 30 hours later, a senior official told AFP shortly after midnight.

“The security forces lifted the siege, the militants are dead. We haven’t had a fire in the building in the last hour,” a Somali official told AFP on condition of anonymity. He added that the government would hold a press conference on the bloody attack on Sunday morning.

According to unconfirmed information, about 40 people died. Earlier, Reuters, citing a former Somali intelligence officer, reported that at least 12 civilians were killed.

Dozens of people were trapped in the hotel and while Somali officials say “dozens were rescued”, it remains unclear how many were inside the facility.

According to eyewitness Hayat Ali, three children aged 4-7 were found in a state of shock in the toilets of the hotel.

“I managed to run to the nearest exit, away from the militants,” said one of the hotel staff who managed to escape. “The militants started shooting, I heard the shots behind me, but, thank God, we managed to escape,” Hussein Ali said. However, “those who chose to hide inside the building, including one of my colleagues, died,” he added.

Footage posted online shows Somali security forces walking over piles of rubble.

Friday’s attack was the first large-scale attack in Somalia since the country’s new president, Hassan Sheikh Mohamud, took office in May. Responsibility was taken by the Shabaab organization, which for more than 10 years has been trying to overthrow the government and create a state based on Islamic laws, Sharia.

A spokesman for the jihadist group, Abdaziz Abu Musab, said on Saturday that the attackers had inflicted “great casualties” on security forces.

^{Sources: APE-MPE, REUTERS, AFP.}