18 dead, more than 30 wounded in Mogadishu hotel blast, attack (Report)

Somali soldier walk near wreckage of vehicles after a car bomb was detonated in Mogadishu, Somalia, Saturday.

 (AP Photo/Farah Abdi Warsameh)

At least 18 people were killed and more than 30 wounded Saturday when Islamic militants attacked a hotel in Somalia’s capital after suicide bombers detonated two car bombs outside the entrance.

The al-Shabab extremist group took responsibility for the attack on the Nasa-Hablod hotel in Mogadishu which is frequented by politicians and other members of the city’s elite.

A third blast occurred when an attacker detonated a suicide vest.

Speaking to The Associated Press by telephone from the scene, Capt. Mohamed…