A suicide bomber has detonated an explosives-laden car at the gate of a Mogadishu hotel, and at least four gunmen have taken hostages inside the building following a furious shootout with police.
At least nine people were killed in the initial blast, while an unknown number of government officials remain trapped inside the building amid sporadic exchanges of gunfire, officials have said.
While the hotel, located in Somalia’s capital, is popular with government officials, it remains unclear who is being targeted in the attack. However, Islamic extremist group al-Shabaab has claimed responsibility.
Two locals carry a wounded boy from the scene of the suicide bombing in Mogadishu today
A hotel guest desperately tries to make his way to the roof of the hotel as militants storm the building
Police and security forces stand guard at the scene of the car bombing as they exchange gunfire with militants inside the building.
Somali police take aim as they walk outside the Hotel Maka Al-Mukaram, where an unknown number of people are being held hostage
Two men badly injured in the bomb blast are helped by a local amid the chaos of the attackThe attack started when a suicide bomber detonated his explosives-laden car at the gate of the hotel today. Gunmen then quickly moved in.
Police captain Mohamed Hussein said he had counted at least nine bodies at the scene, and the death toll is likely to rise.
Al Qaeda-linked al Shabaab has issued a statement taking responsibility for the blitz.
‘We are behind the Hotel Maka Al Mukaram attack, and fighting is still going on inside,’ the group’s military spokesman Sheikh Abdiasis Abu Musab said.
Police surrounded the Hotel Maka Al Mukaram, but heavy gunfire from militants prevented them from mounting a rescue operation. The remains of two destroyed cars could be seen at the gates of the building.
‘The hotel is now fully under the control of the militants,’ Major Ismail Olow, a Mogadishu police officer at the scene, said. ‘Al Shabaab fighters are on the top of the building and inside the hotel. It is not easy for us to go in.’
Al Qaeda-linked group al Shabaab regularly carries out attacks in the Somali capital in a bid to unseat the country’s Western-backed government.
Two police officers take cover behind a wall of the hotel’s exterior during the standoff with the militants.
Locals lower a man onto a stretcher after he was injured in the deadly bomb last which killed nine.
Soldiers and policemen carry a woman from the scene amid a hail of gunfireAl-Shabaab routinely carries out suicide bombings, drive-by shootings and other attacks in Mogadishu, the seat of Somalia’s Western-backed government.
The militants have continued to launch attacks in Mogadishu despite being ousted from their bases in the seaside city in 2011.
Al Shabaab was pushed out of the capital by African peacekeeping forces, but have waged a series of gun and grenade attacks, looking to overthrow the government and impose its strict version of sharia law on the country.
An offensive launched last year by African Union forces along with the Somali army has driven the group out of its strongholds in central and southern Somalia, while a series of U.S. drone strikes have killed some of its top leaders.
Despite the military campaign, al Shabaab has continued to strike back with often devastating effect using hit-and-run bomb and gun attacks in the capital Mogadishu and other towns.
It has also struck out at countries supporting the African Union mission.
Security forces discuss how best to tackle the hostage situation which broke out earlier this afternoon.
A soldier walks past the gate of the hotel, which is left mangled after a suicide bomber detonated an explosives-laden car. 
Two men carry an injured boy from the scene of the attack, for which al Shabaab have claimed responsibility. 
Gunfire erupted between security forces and the militants after they stormed the hotel. Pictured is a policeman running into position.
Soldiers armed with assault rifles take position of the area devastated by a suicide bomber
(Source: Daily Mail)
