武装分子袭击索马里酒店至少20人丧生

Somali rescue workers say at least 20 people were killed and more than 50 injured Wednesday in an attack by militants on a Mogadishu hotel.

Witnesses tell VOA's Somali Service that a truck bomb was detonated outside the Dayah Hotel just before 9 a.m. local time. Gunmen then stormed the damaged building, shooting at guests and exchanging gunfire with security forces.

Islamic militant group al-Shabab, which has carried out similar attacks on hotels and key installations in the city, claimed responsibility for the attack on its website.

About 40 minutes after the attack, a second explosion went off near the hotel. Witnesses told VOA's Somali Service the car which brought militant fighters to the hotel was detonated, possibly by remote control.

At least seven journalists were among those injured in the second explosion, according to Mohamed Ibrahim Moalimu, Secretary General of National Union of Somali Journalists.