At least six civilians and four militants have been killed in an attack on two hotels in the centre of the Somali capital Mogadishu by Islamist militants.

Al-Shabaab claimed responsibility for the attack on the Wehliya hotel and said it had also laid siege to another hotel in the city, the Siyad, where gunfire and explosions continued into the night near the presidential palace.

Umar Ali, a police officer, told Reuters from near Wehliya hotel: “Three fighters have been shot dead and another blew himself up inside the car bomb that hit the gate. The operation here is finished. So far, we know six civilians died.”



The hotel in the centre of Mogadishu, near the fortified government district, is frequented by top government officials but the identities of the dead were not immediately clear.

Mohamed Osman, a guest at the Wehliya who was breaking his Ramadan fast at a restaurant inside when the attack began, said he had been shot in the leg.



Another police officer, who gave his name as Abdirahman, confirmed the Siyad was under attack.



The Islamist militants have stepped up their attacks during Ramadan and the attack on Friday came as people settled down to break their daylight fast.

Al-Shabaab is fighting to overthrow Somalia’s western-backed government which is propped up and protected by the 22,000-strong Amisom force.

Al-Shabaab attacks seek to counter claims that they are close to defeat after losing territory in the face of an African Union and Somali government offensive, regular US drone strikes against their leaders, and defections.

The militants have carried out a string of revenge attacks in neighbouring countries – including the September 2013 attack on the Westgate shopping mall in the Kenyan capital Nairobi, which left at least 67 people dead, and the April massacre of nearly 150 students in Garissa, in Kenya’s north-east.

Somalia has been racked by instability since the collapse of Siad Barre’s hardline regime in 1991.