Ten killed in Somalia hotel attacks

Two hotels in Somalia’s capital city Mogadishu, were stormed by the al Shabaab militant group on Friday, killing at least six civilians and four militants, Reuters reported.

Al Shabaab claimed responsibility for the attack on the Wehliya Hotel and said it had also laid siege to another hotel in the city, the Siyad, where gunfire continued into the night near the presidential palace.

The hotels were busy with people breaking their Ramadan fast when the attacks started at 18.10 local time.

"Three fighters have been shot dead and another blew himself up inside the car bomb that hit the gate. The operation here is finished. So far we know six civilians died," Umar Ali, a police officer, told Reuters from his position near Wehliya hotel.

The hotel is frequented by top government officials but the identity of the dead was not immediately clear.

Mohamed Osman, a guest at the Wehliya who was breaking his Ramadan fast at a restaurant inside when the attack began, said he had been shot in the leg.

Another police officer, who gave his name as Abdirahman, confirmed the Siyad was also under attack.

"We understand operation in the Siyad hotel has not been completed," he said, adding details of any casualties there were not yet available.

Residents in the area said there was heavy gunfire and explosions coming from the hotel.

The Al-Shabab militant group has carried out regular attacks in Somalia. The African Union, a union of 54 countries which promotes cooperation between African countries, is helping the government battle al-Shabab, a terrorist group which is linked to Al-Qaeda.

In March, the Makka Al Mukarama Hotel was the sight of a car bomb and gun battle, which killed at least 20 people, CNN reported.

According to terrorist intelligence reporting group Intelcenter.com, Somalia topped the chart of top countries for terrorist attacks in 2015, with four incidents reported, accounting for almost a quarter (24%) of total hotel attacks in 2015.