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1st LD: Gunmen storm hotel in Mogadishu, casualties feared

Xinhua, July 11, 2015 Adjust font size:

Unknown gunmen stormed a hotel near the presidential palace in Somali capital Mogadishu late Friday, sparking a fierce gun battle, police and witnesses said.

No casualties have been confirmed by far, while an unknown number of people remain trapped inside the building amid sporadic exchanges of gunfire, police officer Ahmed Shire told Xinhua.

"The huge car bomb explosion targeted Wahliye hotel near the presidential palace. First the suicide bomber detonated his car, and then gunmen stormed Wehliye hotel," he said.

"Police and security forces are still battling the militants in the hotel building," he added.

A witness who declined to be named told Xinhua that he saw cars burning in front of the Wahliye hotel.

"I was near the scene after the incident. I saw burnt cars and victims, but I don't know the exact number. I fled from the place immediately for fear of my life," said the witness Endi