Al-Shabab militants regularly attack. [Source: BBC]
Militant Islamists in Somalia have been involved in a gun battle with security forces at a hotel in the capital, Mogadishu.
Al-Shabab says it was behind the attack at the Afrik Hotel, which began with a car bomb on Sunday afternoon.
It is not yet confirmed how many casualties there are, but police said many people had been rescued.
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The group, which is linked to al-Qaeda, regularly carries out attacks against the government.
A car hit the hotel’s front entrance and detonated before gunmen stormed the building, according to officials and others at the scene.
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