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Somalia deadly attack: Gunmen storm Mogadishu hotel after blast | |
(35 minutes later) | |
Gunmen have stormed a hotel in the centre of the Somali capital Mogadishu, with reports of at least 10 dead. | Gunmen have stormed a hotel in the centre of the Somali capital Mogadishu, with reports of at least 10 dead. |
They entered the Ambassador Hotel on Maka al-Mukarama street after setting off a car bomb at the gates outside, witnesses said. | |
Politicians and government officials were believed to be staying in the hotel. | |
The al-Shabab militant group was quick to say it was behind the attack, which intelligence officials say is now over. | |
The BBC's Somali Service reporter Ibrahim Aden in Mogadishu says the explosion is one of the largest to hit the city and the scale of destruction is enormous. | |
The head of the city's Amiin ambulance service has told the BBC the main Medina hospital is overcrowded. | |
Al-Shabab, which is battling the UN-backed government, was driven from Mogadishu in 2011 but still remains a potent threat and frequently carries out attacks in the city. | |
The government, with the help of African Union forces, is fighting the al-Qaeda-linked group to regain control of the country. |