Somalia's deputy prime minister has been injured and two people have been killed in a suicide bomb attack on a hotel near the presidential palace in Mogadishu.
Police official Mohammed Hussein said one person rammed his explosives-laden vehicle into the gate of the hotel, while another suicide bomber then entered the hotel and blew himself up.
Islamic insurgent group Al-Shabab claimed responsibility for the attack, according to the group's radio station Andulus.
Soldiers have cordoned off the area and fired bullets into the air to disperse crowds.
Mr Hussein said deputy PM Mohamed Omar Arte was rushed to a hospital, and several other high-ranking government officials were also at the hotel and injured in the attack.
ends
A Somali politician later said those killed were a legislator and a deputy mayor.
Mohamed Ali said Omar Ali Nor and Mogadishu's deputy mayor Mohamed Aden are among the dead, adding that the death toll is higher than two but figures are not yet available.
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