(CNN) At least 10 people were killed and dozens injured in an attack on a hotel in Somalia's port city of Kismayo on Friday, according to police.

Several gunmen stormed the heavily fortified Asasey Hotel in Kismayo, about 500 km south of the capital Mogadishu, after detonating a car bomb at the entrance gate, police captain Mahad Abdia told CNN.

Among the victims was Hodan Nalayeh, a prominent Somali-Canadian journalist and YouTube star. The 43-year-old was critically wounded in the attack and died at the hospital of her injuries, Abdia said. Her husband Farid was also killed in the attack.

A candidate for regional presidency, tribal elders, and journalists were also among the dead, Abdia told CNN. Local officials had been meeting inside the hotel ahead of a regional election in August. Dozens were rescued, he said.

Terror group Al Shabaab claimed responsibility for the attack in a statement published on an affiliated website, saying it targeted Jubbaland state ministers, regional and federal lawmakers, as well as candidates in the hotel. CNN has not been able to independently confirm these claims.

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