At least 31 dead in Al Shabaab assault on hotel, restaurant in Mogadishu

Terrorists from the Al Shabaab organization detonated a car bomb in front of a hotel in the Somalian capital and then stormed inside an adjacent restaurant and took at least 20 people hostage late Wednesday night. Security forces cordoned off the entire area. A local police commander said Somalian security forces entered the building after an all-night siege and killed all five of the hostage-takers. At least 31 people including foreigners were killed. Several Somali commandos were said to have died in the exchange of fire with the terrorists. Almost 40 people were wounded in the assault.