A deserted street near the scene of an Al Qaeda-linked Al Shabaab group militant attack at Hotel Hayat in Mogadishu. Reuters

Several other people were injured and security forces rescued many others, including children, from the scene of the attack at Mogadishu's Hayat Hotel, they said.

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The attack started with explosions outside the hotel before gunmen entered the building.

Gunfire could still be heard early Saturday as security forces tried to contain the last gunmen, who were thought to be holed up in the hotel. It was unclear how many militants remained on the hotel’s top floor.

Security forces patrol near the Hayat Hotel after an attack by Al Shabaab fighters in Mogadishu on Saturday. AFP

The extremist group Al Shabab claimed responsibility for the attack, the latest of its frequent attempts to strike places that are often visited by government officials.

There was no immediate word on the identities of the victims.

"We were having tea near the hotel lobby when we heard the first blast followed by gunfire. I immediately rushed toward hotel rooms on the ground floor, and I locked," eyewitness Abdullahi Hussein told the media by phone. "The militants went straight upstairs and started shooting. I was inside the room until the security forces arrived and rescued me.”

He said that on his way to safety he saw "several bodies lying on the ground outside hotel reception."

Associated Press