Al-Qaeda affiliated Al-Shabaab have claimed a deadly car bomb attack in the Somali capital of Mogadishu on Saturday.

A Somali journalist who specializes in reporting on the group, Harun Maruf of the VOA, said the group made the claim via telegram channel. The attack is said to have claimed some 10 lives including a police chief and former lawmaker.

A suicide car bomb was rammed into a hotel in Somalia’s capital Mogadishu on Saturday and then armed militants stormed the building, police said.

 

What we know re Mogadishu attack:
-VBIED explodes outside Nasa Hablod 2 hotel followed by gunfire
-Nasa Hablod 2, Banoda restaurant damaged

— Harun Maruf (@HarunMaruf) October 28, 2017

Major Abdullahi Aden, a police officer told Reuters the car bomb exploded at the gate of Nasahablod Two hotel.

“They are fighting inside. So far we do not have casualty figures,” he said. “It is a busy hotel frequented by lawmakers, (military) forces and civilians.”

A Reuters witness heard a loud explosion and smoke rose over the scene. Ambulance sirens could be heard.

Al Shabaab is fighting to topple Somalia’s western-backed government and rule according to its strict interpretation of Islam’s sharia law.

A bomb attack in Mogadishu this month killed at least 358 people.