According to the Xinhua news agency, the number of dead from a string of explosions in the Somali capital has risen to 50. Dozens of people are wounded. Terror group Al-Shabaab says it targeted the Sahafi Hotel in downtown Mogadishu, plotting an assault on government officials and security personnel who frequent the hotel. CGTN's Abdulaziz Billow reports from Mogadishu.

This was the scene on Friday evening - civilians and security personnel rushing to safety. At least three deadly bombs went off outside a popular hotel and the headquarters of the Criminal Investigations Department followed by heavy gunfire that lasted for hours. Four attackers dressed in military uniform were neutralized while attempting to enter the hotel from an opening created by the initial explosion, Al-Shabaab has since claimed responsibility for the deadliest attack so far this year.

ADAN ISSAK DEPUTY INFORMATION MINISTER OF SOMALIA "The terrorists tried to storm the hotel from the back using three explosions followed by fighters who tried to enter the hotel. Hotel security and government forces managed to neutralize the attackers whose main target was to cause massive civilian casualties."

Paramedics and volunteers managed to rush dozens to safety. Al-Shabaab says the coordinated attacks on Sahafi hotel targeted senior government officials and security personnel who frequent the downtown hotel.

"I carried many people to hospital with serious injuries. I also saw many dead bodies lying everywhere. Among the victims was a pregnant woman who was rushed to hospital. The minivan behind was caught in the explosion. I don't know if anyone survived."

"I managed to carry 13 people to safety including four dead bodies to nearby hospital. The death toll is unclear but judging from the impact, the number is bound to go up."

It's the second attack on the same hotel in less than three years, in November 2015, Al-Shabaab launched a dawn attack, briefly seizing control of the hotel killing government officials and a former army commander who pushed out the fighters from Mogadishu in 2011.

ABDULAZIZ BILLOW MOGADISHU, SOMALIA "In 2015, the owner the hotel was killed during the brief siege on the establishment, three years later his son, who took over the management of the hotel was among the fatalities, a constant reminder that its civilians who continue to bear the brunt of the conflict in Somalia."

Friday's attack ends months-long period of relative stability in a city often a target for the group - experts say - the coordinated bombings is yet but a reminder of the security challenges facing Somalia six years since the group leadership pledged allegiance to Al Qaeda - the global terror outfit. AB, CGTN, MOG - SOM.