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Security forces in Mogadishu (archive image)
Photo: HASSAN ALI ELMI / AFP
Armed attackers stormed a hotel near the presidential palace in the Somali capital Mogadishu, killing at least ten people.
Among them were two people with dual Somali-British citizenship, said Mohamed Dahir of the Somali police to the dpa news agency.
The siege of the hotel continued late in the evening.
Somali Security Minister Ahmed Mohamed Doodishe was reportedly among the injured.
The terrorist militia is linked to al-Qaeda
The terrorist militia al-Shabaab, which is linked to al-Qaeda, claimed responsibility for the attack, according to Reuters.
The target of the attack is the nearby presidential palace.
The state television station SNTV reported that security forces were taking action against the Islamists.
Government officials and other guests were rescued from the hotel.
The attack in Mogadishu came two days after a large-scale military operation by Somali government forces in central Somalia that killed 100 Shabaab members, government sources said.
Somalia, a country in the Horn of Africa with around 16 million inhabitants, has been rocked by attacks and violence for years.
The government in Mogadishu has been conducting a military offensive against al-Shabaab for several months.
czl/dpa/Reuters
