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| Version 1 | Version 2 |
|---|---|
| Big blast rocks Mogadishu hotel | Big blast rocks Mogadishu hotel |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| A large explosion has rocked a hotel in the centre of the Somali capital Mogadishu and there is ongoing gunfire after what is suspected to be an al-Shabab attack. | A large explosion has rocked a hotel in the centre of the Somali capital Mogadishu and there is ongoing gunfire after what is suspected to be an al-Shabab attack. |
| The BBC's Ibrahim Aden, in Mogadishu, says the blast hit the Naso Hablod hotel, a mile from the city's airport. | The BBC's Ibrahim Aden, in Mogadishu, says the blast hit the Naso Hablod hotel, a mile from the city's airport. |
| There is no word on casualties. Reports say there may have been a second blast. | |
| Al-Shabab Islamists frequently carry out attacks in the city in their bid to topple the Western-backed government. | |
| "They started with a suicide bomb and then stormed in. Now they are inside and the heavy exchange of gunfire continues," police spokesman Maj Nur Farah told Reuters news agency. | |
| Earlier this month at least 10 people were killed and 50 injured in an attack on another hotel in the Somali capital, which was claimed by al-Shabab. | |
| The al-Qaeda-linked group was driven from Mogadishu in 2011 but still remains a threat and frequently carries out attacks in the city. | |
| The government, with the help of African Union forces, is fighting al-Shabab militants in several parts of the country. |