At least four people were killed and two others injured on Friday as al Shabaab militants attacked two hotels near the presidential palace in the Somali capital of Mogadishu, police said.
"A car bomb explosion targeted Wahliye hotel near the presidential palace. First the suicide bomber detonated his car, and then gunmen stormed Wehliye hotel," Xinhua quoted police officer Ahmed Shire as saying.
Security forces exchanged gunfire with the gunmen and eventually "overpowered them", Shire said, adding that all the streets leading to the hotel were closed.
"The gunmen also attacked another hotel, Siyad, sparking a heavy exchange of gunfire," Shire said.