Gunmen storm hotel in central Somalia, siege ongoing

Dahir Amin Jesow, a federal lawmaker from Baladweyne, said so far at least four people had been killed but that "we are still counting casualties".

Islamist militant group Al Shabaab claimed responsibility for the attack in a statement and said it had killed over 10 people.

Al Shabaab frequently launches bombings and gun attacks in the fragile Horn of Africa nation as it tries to topple the government and establish its own rule based on its strict interpretation of Islamic Sharia law.

"We first heard a huge blast followed by gunfire, then another blast was heard," said Ali Suleiman, a shopkeeper who witnessed the attack.

Parts of the Qahira Hotel had been reduced to rubble as government troops and gunmen exchanged fire, Suleiman added.

Another witness who lives near the hotel, Halima Nur, said gunfire was ringing out intermittently as the siege continued.

(Reporting by Abdi Sheikh and Feisal Omar; Writing by Elias Biryabarema; Editing by Alexander Winning and Sharon Singleton)