The local authorities in Somalia have confirmed on Saturday that at least 35 people have been killed and 126 have been injured in a suicide bombing and gun attack on a beachside hotel in its capital, Mogadishu.

Al-Shabab, an al-Qaeda-linked armed group that control large parts of southern and central Somalia, claimed responsibility for the attack on Lido Beach yesterday through an affiliated radio station.

Addressing the media, police spokesperson Abdifatah Adan Hassan said that the security forces had shot down five terrorists. The civilians trapped in the hotel have been evacuated and the security forces have defused an explosive-laden car parked in the area. Further investigations are underway.

Somali Prime Minister Hassan Ali Khaire condemned the act and expressed his condolences through a post on social media.