Death toll in Islamist attack in Somalia rises to 15: Police

The Shabaab group claimed responsibility for the attack in a statement distributed through online social networks.

Mogadishu: The death toll from an attack by the Somali Islamist group al Shabaab on a hotel in the capital Mogadishu on Saturday rose to at least 15, a police officer said.

Major Ali Mohamed said the death toll included guards, civilians and militants. "The operation has now ended but we are still combing the building for any possible militants who are hiding," he told Reuters.

A spokesman for al Shabaab, which claimed responsibility, said the death toll was at least 20 guards and civilians. 

Numbers of casualties cited by the government are often lower than those reported by al Shabaab.