There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attack
A vehicle rammed through a checkpoint on Tuesday and was fired on by security forces before it exploded outside hotel
Al-Shabab is waging an insurgency against Somalia's weak UN-backed government to establish an Islamic emirate
Police suspects hand of al-Shabab behind the attack
Al-Shabab, that claimed responsibility for the blast wants to establish an Islamic emirate in the country based on a strict form of Islam
An attack on another Mogadishu hotel and public garden in February killed at least nine civilians
The attack began when a suicide bomber detonated an explosives-laden vehicle at the Ambassador Hotel's gates