Al Qaeda-linked al Shabaab has claimed it was behind the attack.The attackers struck the Hayat Hotel with two car bombs, before entering the building while firing their guns and seizing control at about 4pm local time.
The detonations sent huge plumes of smoke over the busy junction on Friday night, and the sound of gunfire still crackled across the capital on Saturday.
Al Shabaab had been fighting to remove the Somali Government for more than a 10 years, with the aim of establishing a state run on a strict interpretation of Islamic law.
The Hayat hotel is popular with politicians and other state officials, though there has been no indication yet that any were caught up in the fighting.
Friday’s attack is the first since new Somali president Hassan Sheikh Mohamud took office in May.
In August 2020, al Shabaab said it was behind an attack on another hotel in Mogadishu in which at least 16 people were killed.
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