An attack on a hotel in the Somali capital Mogadishu has left 11 people dead, including five militants, a government spokesman said on Wednesday after the siege ended.
The religious terrorist group al-Shabaab, which is linked to al-Qaeda, has claimed responsibility for the attack, which started on Tuesday evening and lasted nearly six hours.
At least eight people were also injured, government spokesman Ismail Mukhtar Omar said, while police put the number at 12. One hundred people were rescued.
The dead include two security forces, two hotel guards and two civilians.
The hotel is popular with politicians, according to police sources, and was hosting a gathering of politicians and other local community leaders at the time of the attack.
The gunmen entered the hotel, which is located near the Somali capital's presidential palace, through a security entrance and were said to be wearing the uniform of the security forces.
It was the third time that the hotel has been attacked in recent years.
Al-Shabaab has been fighting for supremacy in the country on the Horn of Africa for years. The Sunni fundamentalist group controls large areas in the south and centre of Somalia and repeatedly attacks security forces and civilians.
