The armed Islamists broke into a hotel in Beledweyne in central Somalia, and the siege is ongoing, police and witnesses said.
The al-Shabab attack began with an exploded car bomb, followed by attackers who entered the hotel, leading to intense conflicts with security forces.
Police said at least four people had been killed, but witnesses said the BBC that the number of deaths increased to 10, and security forces are still fighting weapons at the Qahir Hotel.
Al-Shabab, which is associated with al-Qaid, has been running a brutal rebellion in Somalia for more than two decades.
The attack at the hotel happened while politicians, security officers and traditional elders met to discuss the offensive plans against a group in Central Somalia.
Beledweyne is about 335 km (208 miles) north of the capital of Mogadishu and is a strategic place in a campaign against Al-Shabab.
Officer Ali Mahad said many of them were rescued, reports AFP news agency
“Security forces solve several attackers who are in smooth parts of the building,” is quoted.
Beledweyne Federal MP, Dahir Amin Jesow, told the BBC that there are almost seven armed people in the hotel.
“It will be necessary to introduce forces with a heavy weapon to neutralize the situation,” he said.
Parts of the hotel were reduced to the ruins while the government’s forces exchanged the fire, said the saleswoman Ali Suleiman, who witnessed the attack, told Reuters news agency.
“We first heard a huge explosion followed by a shot, and then another explosion was heard,” he said.
It is unclear how many people were wounded, but the MP said they were trying to organize themselves for planes to fly victims in my treatment for treatment.
