Feared militant group, Al-Shabab has claimed responsibility for a deadly attack launched at the Afrik Hotel, in Somalia which began with a car bomb on Sunday afternoon and killed nine people in the process.

Reports say a car hit the hotel’s front entrance in the capital of Mogadishu and detonated before gunmen stormed the building, according to officials and others at the scene of the incident.

“The blast made the hotel tremble as we sat inside and were talking. We were panicked, confused,” eyewitness Ahmed Nur was quoted by Reuters as saying.

“The operation is over now. Nine people, including four attackers, died and over 10 civilians were injured. There is no electricity,” a police spokesman told reporters from the scene and via Facebook.

The incident came two months after a deadly bomb blast in the capital of Mogadishu claimed the lives of no fewer than seven victims and left 10 others seriously injured.

The incident was confirmed by BBC’s Bella Sheegow who said that the explosion happened in a popular ice-cream parlour and bakery near the airport.