Somalia militants launch deadly attack on hotel in Mogadishu

MOGADISHU, Somalia -- A suicide bomber detonated his explosives-laden car at the gate of a hotel popular with government officials in Mogadishu on Friday, killing at least nine people, police said.

Gunfire could be heard inside the Maka Al-Mukarramah Hotel, but it was not clear if any gunmen had managed to penetrate the hotel's gate, said Somali police Capt. Mohamed Hussein.

Hussein said he had counted at least nine bodies.

It remained unclear who was being targeted in the attack that is believed to have been carried out by the Islamic extremist group al-Shabab. Sheikh Abdiasis Abu Musab, an Al Shabab spokesman, told Reuters that the militant group was responsible for Friday's attack.

Al-Shabab routinely carries out suicide bombings, drive-by shootings and other attacks in Mogadishu, the seat of Somalia's Western-backed government.

The militants have continued to launch attacks in Mogadishu despite being ousted from their bases in the seaside city in 2011.

Last month, Somalia's deputy prime minister was among the wounded in a deadly suicide bomb attack at the Central Hotel near the presidential palace in the capital. Al-Shabab claimed responsibility for the attack.