Security services were seen earlier on Friday surrounding the Syl Hotel, usually frequented by government officials and politicians, following the late Thursday attack claimed by the al-Qaeda-allied militants.

"Three soldiers died. Eighteen civilians and nine soldiers were injured in the hotel attack, Kasim Ahmed Roble, police spokesperson, told a news conference.

"All the five terrorists were shot dead and their bodies displayed."

Al Shabaab has been waging a brutal insurgency against Somalia's federal government since 2006 to try to establish its own rule based on its interpretation of Islamic Sharia law.

In Thursday's attack, residents heard a blast followed by gunfire as the attackers entered the hotel, they told Reuters.

A second blast followed several minutes later, a Reuters journalist and a resident said.

Despite being pushed out of several territories by government-backed forces since the mid-2010s, the militant group still controls vast areas in southern and central Somalia and launches sporadic attacks on civilian and military targets.

In June, al Shabaab militants killed nine people at the Pearl restaurant in the capital. In 2019, its fighters attacked Syl Hotel.

Australian Associated Press