Hotel Siege in Somalia Continues After Militant Blasts Kill 25

(Bloomberg) -- Somali forces are battling al-Qaeda-linked militants around a hotel in the capital, Mogadishu, a police officer said, after at least 25 people were killed in bombings on a major thoroughfare.

Al-Shabaab insurgents detonated an explosives-laden vehicle near the gate of the Maka Al Mukrarram hotel on Thursday evening, Abdihafid Adan, a police officer who rushed to the scene, said by phone. He counted 18 bodies and said the toll could rise.

Seven people found with injuries have died, while another 25 wounded were admitted to a nearby hospital, according to Mohamed Ahmed, a paramedic who attended the scene. There was a second blast near a junction on the same road from a vehicle being chased by security forces, police said. Casualties from that attack are still unknown.

There are still bursts of gunfire as some militants remain in a hotel and buildings in the area, said Ahmed Nur, a police officer. Al-Shabaab claimed responsibility for the attack in a statement broadcast on Radio Andalus, which supports its insurgency.

The militants have waged an insurgency in the Horn of Africa nation since about 2006 in a bid to impose their version of Islamic law. While the group was driven out of Mogadishu in 2011 by Somali and African Union forces, it continues to carry out deadly gun and bomb attacks.

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