Sunday January 31, 2021
Mogadishu (HOL) - General Mohamed Nur Galal has been confirmed as among the 11 dead after Al-Shabaab militants attacked the Hotel Afrik in Mogadishu on Sunday.
The former General's death was confirmed by MP Mahad Mohamed Salad and a government spokesperson.
General Mohamed Nur Galal was a top military commander and the former deputy defense minister of Somalia in the late 1970s. He is best remembered in Somalia for his role and strategy in the Somali-Ethiopia War of 1977. Following the collapse of Somalia's central government in 1991, he was appointed Defense Minister by president Ali Mahdi's government.
Al-Shabab fighters stormed the hotel on Sunday late in the afternoon. Hotel Afrik is a popular hotel frequented by politicians and senior civil servants.
Somali security forces managed rescued several senior government officials. There has been no official word from the Somali government to confirm the exact number of casualties in the attack.