Somali extremist group al-Shabaab attacked a Mogadishu hotel on Friday, killing at least 15 people.

The attack began after a suicide bomber detonated explosives at a rear gate of Hotel Maka Al Mukaram, CNN and Reuters reported. Militants then quickly moved in and opened fire on people inside the hotel. One of the militants blew himself up inside the hotel.

Elite government forces known as "Gaashaan" stormed the hotel and regained control after exchanging fire with the militants for more than 12 hours, according to Reuters.

"At least 15 people died including Somalia's ambassador to Geneva, and at least 20 others were wounded," senior police officer Colonel Farah Aden told Reuters.

Al-Shabaab said it targeted the hotel because it was frequented by spies and government officials, according to CNN.

----------------------------------------­---------------------

Welcome to TomoNews, where we animate the most entertaining news on the internets. Come here for an animated look at viral headlines, US news, celebrity gossip, salacious scandals, dumb criminals and much more! Subscribe now for daily news animations that will knock your socks off.

Visit our official website for all the latest, uncensored videos: http://us.tomonews.net
Check out our Android app: http://bit.ly/1rddhCj
Check out our iOS app: http://bit.ly/1gO3z1f

Stay connected with us here:
Facebook http://www.facebook.com/TomoNewsUS
Twitter @tomonewsus http://www.twitter.com/TomoNewsUS
Google+ http://plus.google.com/+TomoNewsUS/
Instagram @tomonewsus http://instagram.com/tomonewsus