Somali hotel attack rages on

Somali government police secure Maka Al-Mukarama hotel during an attack by Islamist group al-Shabaab in Mogadishu. REUTERS/Feisal Omar

Somali government police secure Maka Al-Mukarama hotel during an attack by Islamist group al-Shabaab in Mogadishu. REUTERS/Feisal Omar

Published Mar 27, 2015

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Mogadishu, Somalia - A Somali police official says at least four gunmen have taken positions inside a Mogadishu hotel, where the security forces are trying to regain control.

Capt. Mohamed Hussein told The Associated Press that an unknown number of people staying at the hotel are now trapped inside amid sporadic exchanges of gunfire.

The attack started when a suicide bomber detonated his explosives-laden car at the gate of a hotel popular with government officials in Mogadishu on Friday. Gunmen then quickly moved in.

Hussein said he had counted at least nine bodies at the scene of the attack, and the death toll is likely to rise.

The Somali militant group-al-Shabab is believed to have carried out the attack.

Sapa-AP

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