Hotel attack in Somalia kills 26

A hotel attack reportedly carried out by al-Qaeda-linked jihadist fundamentalist group al-Shabab in the Somali port city Kismayo resulted in 26 deaths on Saturday.

Victims of a suicide car bomber and gunmen included Kenyans, Tanzanians, Americans, a Briton, a Canadian, and prominent Somali politicians.

More than 50 people were wounded during the attack which reportedly lasted 14 hours before troops shot and killed the attackers inside the hotel. A political gathering in which local elders and legislators were meeting to discuss approaching regional elections was taking place at the hotel. A presidential candidate and two journalists were also killed during the siege.

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Al-Shabab, which is reportedly trying to topple the Somali government, claimed responsibility for the attack. The extremist group was driven from Somalia's capital, Mogadishu, in 2011 and continued to lose most of its former strongholds, including Kismayo. The port city was reportedly a major source of revenue for the group until the lost hold in 2012. Despite the loss of territory, Al-Shabab remains a major security threat in parts of Somalia and Kenya. Read more at Al Jazeera.