Somalian Deputy Mayor & 7 Others Killed As Militants Attack High-Profile Hotel In Mogadishu

Mogadishu (CNN) - At least eight people were killed on Friday when militants attacked a hotel frequented by government officials in the heart of Mogadishu, Somalia's capital, police said. The bloodshed began when a car packed with explosives blew up at the main gate of the luxury Central Hotel, Mogadishu police Capt. Hassan Abdi told CNN.
This explosion was followed by heavy gunfire, then a second blast - a suicide bombing inside the hotel as other attackers shot their way in, according to Abdi. The Central Hotel is a place where government ministers, members of parliament, army officers and other officials often go.

Mohamed Aden, Mogadishu's deputy mayor, was among those killed, according to officials in Somalia's Benadir region, which includes Mogadishu.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility. But Al-Shabaab, an Islamist extremist group blamed for terrorist acts in Somalia and beyond over the years, is believed to be behind this attack, Abdi said.

Villa Somalia, the East African country's equivalent of the White House, didn't express any doubts that Al-Shabaab is behind what it called an attack on lawmakers and citizens after Muslim's traditional Friday prayers.