At least 10 dead in terrorist attack on hotel in Mogadishu

At least 10 people were killed when armed attackers stormed a hotel near the presidential palace in the Somali capital Mogadishu, according to the police.

Among the victims are two individuals with dual Somali-British citizenship, Mohamed Dahir of the Somali police told dpa. The hotel, which is popular among politicians, was still under siege late on Sunday.

Somali Minister of Internal Security Ahmed Mohamed Doodishe was injured in the attack, police said.

The al-Shabaab terrorist militia reported of fighting inside the hotel on their radio station.

The Mogadishu attack came two days after a large-scale operation by the Somali military in the centre of the country in which at least 100 al-Shabaab fighters, including 10 milita leaders, were killed, according to the armed forces.

Somalia has been a war-torn, barely governed country for decades, largely due to the presence of al-Shabaab.

For the past several months, the government has been taking military action against the terrorist group, which controls large parts of central Somalia and the south of the country.

The Somali military, with the support of armed clans and civilians, has recently been able to make major territorial gains against al-Shabaab.