Huge explosion at hotel in Somali capital; gunmen inside

MOGADISHU, Somalia (AP) — A suicide bomber detonated an explosives-laden vehicle at the gate of a Mogadishu hotel, followed by a second explosion heard inside the hotel as gunmen fought their way inside, police said Saturday.

Police Capt. Ali Ahmed said security forces were battling the attackers who took positions inside the Nasa-Hablod hotel near the capital's busy KM-4 junction.

The Somalia-based, al-Qaeda-linked al-Shabab extremist group has been waging a deadly insurgency across large parts of Somalia and often employs suicide car bomb attacks to penetrate heavily fortified targets in Mogadishu and elsewhere.

The latest attack comes during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, during which extremists often step up attacks in this volatile East African country.