MOGADISHU (SD) – Dozens of people including the owner of Afrik Hotel have been rescued in the ongoing siege at Hotel Afrik in Mogadishu.

A vehicle Borne Improvised Explosive Device (VBIED) crashed into the entrance gate of the Afrik hotel, near Mogadishu Airport along K-4 road this afternoon.

Unknown number of heavily armed al-Shabaab militants forced their way into the hotel, taking dozens of people hostage.

Somalia’s elite forces known as Alfa group are fighting armed gunmen to end the siege at the hotel.

The police said over fifty people were rescued. Yusuf Mohamed Indha-ade a former state minister for Defense and the owner of the hotel Hussein Goley are among those who have been rescued.

Paramedics confirmed deaths of eight people and more than ten injuries but there is fear that casualties of the attack could rise as the fighting with militants is still raging.

The government did not comment on the ongoing attack in Afrik Hotel.

Al-Shabaab militant group has claimed the responsibility for the attack.