Al-Shabaab attacks hotel in Somali capital

MOGADISHU - Islamist militants from the Al-Shabaab group on Thursday attacked a popular hotel near the presidential palace in Somalia's capital Mogadishu, security sources and witnesses said.

The assault, for which Al-Shabaab claimed responsibility, began at around 9.45pm when gunmen stormed the SYL hotel in a hail of bullets.

"Several gunmen forced their way into the building after destroying the perimeter wall with a heavy explosion," security officer Ahmed Dahir told AFP.

It was not immediately clear if there were casualties.

Witnesses described hearing the attackers shoot indiscriminately.

"I don't know about the casualties but there were many people inside when the attack started," said Hassan Nur who escaped by scaling a wall.

Other witnesses said police officers arrived at the hotel within minutes of the attack, triggering a fierce gun battle.

Abdullahi Hassan, who was at a nearby house, said the officers arrived in multiple vehicles.

"Two ambulances carried wounded people," he said. 

The Al-Qaeda-linked jihadists have been waging an insurgency against the internationally backed federal government for more than 16 years and have often targeted hotels, which tend to host high-ranking Somali and foreign officials.

Thursday's attack comes days after the US Treasury slapped sanctions on 16 individuals and entities across the Horn of Africa and the Middle East it accused of laundering money for the militant group.

The targeted entities included Dubai-based fintech Haleel Commodities LLC with branches and subsidiaries in Kenya, Somalia, Uganda and Cyprus.

UAE-based Qemat Al Najah General Trading and a Kenyan bus company that supported Al-Shabaab's logistics were also hit with sanctions.