Destructed materials scatter Medina hotel in the southern port town of Kismayo after Al-Shabab militants attacked the hotel, killing more than 26 and wounding 56 others. (Xinhua)
Kenya on Saturday called on the world to unite in the fight against global terrorism after Somali militant group al-Shabab killed 26 people, among them three Kenyans, in southern Somalia.
Monica Juma, foreign affairs cabinet secretary, also urged the international community to hasten the listing of al-Shabab as a terrorist organization under the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) Resolution 1267 to help deal with the al-Qaida allied terrorist group.
"Claimed by the Al Shabaab, this attack is another reminder to the international community of the imperative to list the Al Shabaab, like all other terrorist groups, under the UNSC resolution 1267, and strengthen collective resolve in countering terrorist actions and ideology," she said in a tweet.
"I convey my deepest condolences to the families and friends of the people that lost their lives to yesterday's terrorist attack in Kismayo, Somalia," said Juma.
Jubbaland State president Ahmed Mohamed Madobe said 10 foreigners from Kenya, Canada, America and Tanzania were among those killed when an al-Shabab suicide bomber rammed a vehicle loaded with explosives into the popular Medina hotel in Kismayo town, before attackers forced their way inside the hotel.
Somali journalists' association has confirmed that two journalists were among the dead.
Al-Shabab, which is trying to topple Somalia's central government, has claimed responsibility for the attack on Friday.