The hotel was targeted because it was popular with government officials as it is in a government-controlled area close to the presidential palace and the security is tight.
[7] Sheikh Ali Mohamoud Rage, an al-Shabaab spokesman, said his fighters were starting a new war against "invaders," a reference to the 6,000 African Union Mission to Somalia (AMISOM) troops deployed to support Transitional Federal Government forces.
"[8] Ethiopia's Ministry of Foreign Affairs said a statement that "Al-Shabab and its foreign-based allies who are opposed to [the] peace process have deliberately continued to disrupt effort to build a stable Somalia."
[2] Journalist Nick Wadhams wrote for Time on August 25 that the "brazen" attack proved that al-Shabaab poses an existential threat to the central government.
He quoted Ali Osman, a senior official in the Ministry for Industry, as saying "The government does not have enough power to defeat al-Shabab and to secure the safety of Mogadishu...