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At least 15 dead after Islamic militant gunmen storm Hayat hotel
and open fire in horror siege
Katie Davis
The Scottish Sun
10:03, 20 Aug 2022, Updated: 13:49, 20 Aug 2022
AT least 15 people have been killed after Islamic militants stormed a hotel in Somalia's capital.
The attackers blasted their way into the Hayat Hotel in Mogadishu on Friday evening with two car bombs before opening fire in a horror siege.
At least 15 people have been killed in the siege. Credit: EPA
Gunmen stormed the Hayat Hotel in Somalia. Credit: Reuters
Somalia's al Shabaab insurgents have claimed responsibility.
It's feared the death toll could rise as several people were injured in the attack and had to be taken to hospital as others, including kids, were rescued.
The detonations sent huge plumes of smoke over the busy junction on Friday night, and the sound of gunfire still crackled across the capital early on Saturday.
Sounds of explosions punctuated the night as government forces tried to wrest control of the hotel back from the militants, witnesses said.
Large sections of the hotel were destroyed by the fighting, they said.
Authorities were still trying to get control back on Saturday morning as security forces tried to contain the gunmen, thought to have been holed up on the hotel's first floor.
One witness, Abdullahi Hussein, told AP: "We were having tea near the hotel lobby when we heard the first blast followed by gunfire.
"I immediately rushed toward hotel rooms on the ground floor, and I locked (it).
"The militants went straight upstairs and started shooting.
"I was inside the room until the security forces arrived and rescued me."
He said that on his way to safety he saw "several bodies lying on the ground outside hotel reception."
Friday's attack was the first major attack since President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud took office in May.
The al Qaeda-linked al Shabaab group claimed responsibility for the attack, according to a translation by the SITE Intelligence Group, which monitors jihadist group statements.
Al Shabaab has been fighting to topple the Somali government for more than ten years. It wants to establish its own rule based on a strict interpretation of Islamic law.
The Hayat Hotel is a popular venue with lawmakers and other government officials. There was no immediate information on whether any of them had been caught up in the siege.
Imran Khan Claims Remarks on Salman Rushdie Taken ‘Out of Context’
PTI chairman backtracks from earlier condemnation of New York attack on author
by Newsweek Pakistan
August 20, 2022
Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan on Friday backtracked from an earlier interview in which he had come out against the attack on author Salman Rushdie at an event in New York last week.
As the interview started circulating on social media, supporters of the right-wing Tehreek-e-Labaik Pakistan (TLP) accused the former prime minister of supporting a “blasphemer” while Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (Fazl) chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman used it as “proof” of allegations that Khan was “an agent of foreigners” against Islam. PTI supporters, meanwhile, sought to defend Khan by highlighting earlier statements in which he had called Rushdie “unbalanced” for criticizing him over the boycott of an event in India that was to be attended by both.
Rejecting the criticism, Khan told 92News—in a video also shared by the PTI’s official Twitter account—that The Guardian had taken his statement out of context. “I had refused to attend an event in India over its invitation to Rushdie,” he recalled, noting that Rushdie had given a speech against him over his boycott. “During the interview, I had sought to explain the Islamic position on [legal action against] blasphemy, and had cited the Sialkot tragedy as an example,” he said. “It was in this context that I had talked about Salman Rushdie,” he added.
The lynching of a Sri Lankan national in Sialkot last year had drawn widespread condemnations, with the government vowing to ensure all culprits were brought to justice. Several Islamic leaders had, at the time, issued statements stressing that Islam does not permit incidents of mass violence and emphasized the need to ensure that the country’s blasphemy laws be exercised in all cases of alleged blasphemy to avoid such incidents in future.
“The horrific vigilante attack on factory in Sialkot and the burning alive of Sri Lankan manager is a day of shame for Pakistan,” said then-prime minister Khan. “I am overseeing the investigations and let there be no mistake all those responsible will be punished with full severity of the law. Arrests are in progress,” he had emphasized.
One of the most obvious characteristics of devout Islamic countries where governmental control is weak is that of mass hysteria at the mere mention of someone criticizing the Quran. Some of the most horrific atrocities imaginable have been accomplished in this context.
Tensions high in Hyderabad after alleged burning of Holy Quran
Since the mob refused to leave, the police resorted to baton charges and
tear gas shelling, forcing the crowd to flee.
By News Desk, Global Village Space
22 August 2022
Tensions are high in Hyderabad following an incident of alleged desecration of the Holy Quran. Enraged crowds took to the streets to get hold of the accused.
According to the details, a Hindu sanitary worker was accused of allegedly burning some pages of the Holy Quran in a marketplace in Saddar, Hyderabad. A complaint was registered against the man under sections 295-B and 34 of PPC and the police arrested him.
However, the issue began when the news of the man allegedly burning the Holy Quran spread like wildfire. As per reports, around eight to ten men entered the shopping plaza looking for the man. An angry mob also gathered outside the plaza, demanding the police hand him over.
As a result of the enraged mob, all business and commercial centers were shut down immediately. Since the mob refused to leave, the police resorted to baton charges and tear gas shelling, forcing the crowd to flee.
The police registered a case against 150-200 rioters and arrested 48 from the mob that gathered outside the plaza amid accusations of blasphemy against the Hindu sanitary worker.
While the police are actively working to keep the law and order situation, the situation is still tense in Hyderabad. Reports emerge of members of the Hindu community getting attacked following the incident.
Important to note that this is rather alarming as accusations of blasphemy often lead to extreme and horrific measures. Last year, a mob in Sialkot lynched a Sri Lankan factory manager over accusations of blasphemy.
Sialkot incident
In December 2021, an angry mob accused a Sri Lankan factory manager, Priyantha Diyawadana, of blasphemy by allegedly tearing up posters containing holy verses. As a result, they beat him to death. Later they burned his body.
Videos of the incident went viral on social media and left the entire nation horrified and shocked. Authorities immediately came into action to arrest those responsible for the horrible incident in Sialkot.
This was not the first incident of mob violence against alleged suspects of blasphemy. Several incidents of a violent mob beating the suspects to death have been reported in various cities of Pakistan.
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