Somalia: Al-Shabab attack at Nasa Hablod hotel kills 15

A suicide bomber detonated an explosives-laden vehicle at the gate of a hotel in Somalia's capital, Mogadishu, which was followed by a second explosion with attackers fighting their way inside the building.

Armed group al-Shabab claimed responsibility for Saturday's attack on the Nasa Hablod hotel in a statement distributed through social networks online.

Police in Somalia said the hotel siege ended late on Saturday, leaving at least 15 people dead. But witnesses confirm that the fighting still continues in the hotel where government ministers and officials are trapped .

Police captain Ali Ahmed said security forces battled the attackers who took positions inside the hotel near Mogadishu's busy KM-4 junction.  A security official, who asked not to be named, told the DPA news agency that the attack was believed to had been carried out by three to four people.

A witness to the attack, Ali Mohamud, said the attackers randomly shot at guests at the hotel.  "They were shooting at everyone they could see. I escaped through the back door," he said.  Captain Mohamed Hussein said some attackers had moved to the second floor and were using machine guns to resist security forces. Hussein said security forces killed two of the attackers.

He also told the AP news agency that he saw four bodies, thought to be civilians, lying outside the hotel.  Yusuf Ali, an ambulance driver, said he had evacuated 11 people injured in the attack to hospitals.

"Most of them were wounded in crossfire," he said.   Muslims in Somalia and around the world are observing Ramadan. In previous years, al-Shabab has intensified attacks during the fasting month, often picking targets where people gather just before or after breaking the fast.