At least 18 people have been killed in an attack on a hotel in Somalia's capital of Mogadishu. Police say more than 30 people were wounded in Saturday's attack, when a suicide car bomb exploded outside the gates of the Nasa-Hablod Hotel. Politicians and other members of Mogadishu's elite are known to stay at the hotel. Following the bombing, militants stormed the building and exchanged fire with security forces.

 

Rescuers are searching for survivors stranded under the rubble. The al-Shabab extremist group has claimed responsibility for the attack. The blast comes two weeks after more than 350 people were killed in a massive truck bombing, the country's worst-ever attack.