At least 10 people were killed Friday in an attack by militants at a hotel in Mogadishu, the capital of Somalia, a police official said. Al Shabab, an extremist group, claimed responsibility for the attack, and Somali special forces were still attempting to retake the hotel as of Friday evening local time after police previously tried to go in. The BBC reported that the Somali ambassador to Switzerland, Yusuf Bari Bari, was one of those killed in the attack.
The attack began after a suicide bomber blew up a car at the gate of the Maka al Mukarramah hotel, which is popular with foreigners. At least four armed militants entered the building and killed anyone they came across, the Associated Press reported, and some people in the hotel jumped out of windows to escape. At least one member of Somali security forces was wounded during the battle for the hotel.
It is unclear how many people were inside at the time of the attack, Somali police Capt. Mohamed Hussein told the AP. Nor was it immediately clear whom the militants were aiming to kill. At least 12 people have been wounded, and the number of deaths was expected to grow.
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