Kismayo attack: At least 26 dead as gunmen storm Somali hotel

At least 26 people, including a prominent journalist and several foreigners, have been killed in an attack on a hotel in southern Somalia.

A suicide bomber rammed a car containing explosives into the Asasey hotel in the port of Kismayo, and gunmen then stormed the building.

Journalist Hodan Nalayeh, 43, and her husband Farid were among the dead.

Islamist group al-Shabab has claimed the attack, the worst to hit Kismayo since they were forced out in 2012.

A local politician, three Kenyans, three Tanzanians, two Americans and one Briton were also killed, authorities say.

How did the attack unfold?

Regional politicians and clan elders were inside the hotel discussing a forthcoming regional election when the attack began on Friday.

Witnesses said they heard a huge blast before several heavily armed men forced their way in.

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"There is chaos inside, I saw several dead bodies carried from the scene and people are fleeing from the nearby buildings," one witness, Hussein Muktar, said during the attack.

It took 12 hours for authorities to regain control over the hotel.

Regional President Ahmed Mohamed put the death toll at 26 with more than 50 people wounded. Three attackers died in the raid while one was captured.

Who were the victims?

Hodan Nalayeh founded the media platform Integration TV to tell stories about life in Somalia and in the Somali diaspora.

Recent episodes had focused on Somalia's female entrepreneurs and things to do in the city of Las Anod.

She moved to Canada with her family when she was six years old and went on to become a figurehead of the Somali community there. But the mother of two had recently returned to Somalia.

She once spoke about how she would like to be remembered after her death.

"My vision is not to be famous and to make money. My mission is what I will leave behind when I die and what will I be remembered for," she said.

"One of the things is that I want people to remember that I loved the Somali people and want them to be brothers and to remember the importance of our unity for our country."

Tributes have been paid, with BBC journalist Farhan Jimale calling her "a beautiful soul" while Canada's Immigration Minister Ahmed Hussen said she was a "voice for many".

The Somali Journalists Syndicate said that Nalayeh and another reporter also killed in Kismayo, Mohamed Omar Sahal, were the first journalists to be killed in the country this year.

How common is this type of attack?

Somalia sees frequent militant attacks but after al-Shabab was driven out of Kismayo the port has been relatively peaceful.

The militants have been carrying out regular attacks in the capital Mogadishu, despite the heavy presence of African Union peacekeepers and US-trained Somali troops.

Al-Shabab is affiliated with al-Qaeda and remains a powerful presence in rural Somalia.