Death toll rises as Somali car bomb fire tears into Capital

The death toll from a powerful car bombing explosion and clashes between security forces and gunmen near a hotel in the Somali capital has risen to 29.An Islamic extremist group claimed that a Mogadishu hotel was the intended target, but a police officer said militants detonated a bomb while trying to assassinate a judge.

According to a police officer, Mohamed Hussein, The car bomb went off near the residence of appeals court chief judge Abshir Omar, and security forces stationed outside the judge's house fought off gunmen who tried to force their way inside,

At least 40 others were injured in the attack, and the death toll could rise as many of the wounded are still being treated in hospitals.

Al-Shabab, which is considered the deadliest Islamic extremist group in Africa, claimed responsibility for the attack. The al-Qaeda-linked group said the Maka Almukarramah hotel, not the judge's house nearby, was the intended target.

Security forces were still fighting to neutralise some militants holed up inside a building close to the hotel.