Complex attacks combining multiple weapon systems in coordinated assaults remain one of Al Shabaab’s most effective tactics against both military and civilian targets in Somalia. These operations often begin with explosives to breach perimeters followed by armed assaults intended to cause maximum casualties and disruption. Against military bases attackers may deploy hundreds of fighters while in cities like Mogadishu smaller teams strike high profile civilian sites such as hotels often as suicide missions. Somalia’s elite counterterrorism units including NISA’s Gaashaan the army’s Danab commandos and the police’s Haram’ad SWAT have the skills and equipment to respond but lack a unified incident command. During the Hayat Hotel siege separate chains of command incompatible communication systems and differing tactics delayed a coordinated response echoing similar problems once seen in Afghanistan before adopting the UK gold silver bronze model.