A gunbattle raged in Mogadishu on Friday between Somali soldiers and al-Shabab fighters, holed up in a building next to a hotel they had hit with a suicide car bomb the previous evening.
Heavy gunfire resounded across the Somali capital through the night and as dawn broke, police said the death toll, put at 13 so far, was rising following the blast at the Hotel Maka Al-Mukarama, located on a street lined with hotels, shops and restaurants.
"The security forces rescued dozens of civilians in the hotel and nearby buildings. The militants are still inside and exchange of fire still continues. So far we confirmed 13 people died and scores were injured," Maj. Mohamed Hussein, a police officer, told Reuters on Friday.