BREAKING NEWS: Car bomb explodes outside Mogadishu hotel with gunfire heard inside

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BREAKING NEWS: Car bomb explodes outside Mogadishu hotel with gunfire heard inside

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A suspected suicide car bomb has exploded outside a Mogadishu hotel, while gunfire has been heard coming from inside the building, police in Somalia have confirmed.

Gunshots could be heard ringing out inside the Nasa-Hablod hotel, police captain Mohammed Hussein said.

A huge plume of smoke can be seen rising in the air with initial reports claiming the blast happened near the national theatre.

The suspected suicide bomber is believed to have detonated near the gate of the hotel close to the presidential palace at around 5pm local time.

The blast comes just two weeks after 350 people were killed on the streets of Mogadishu when a truck bomb exploded in the city's worst ever terror attack.

And the Nasa-Hablod hotel was targeted just last year, when al-Shabaab gunmen stormed the building, killing at least 14 people and injuring another 25.

Terror group Al-Shabab, which has links to al-Qaeda, often targets high profile areas in the city. There was no immediate claim as to who was responsible for the blast.

President Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed has been appealing to neighbouring countries in a bid to drum up support in the fight against the Islamic extremist terror cult.

A staggering 22,000-strong African Union force is expected to withdraw its forced and hand the country's security to the Somali military by the start of 2021.

The US has been actively involving in trying to combat the group, launching 20 drone strikes.