Al-Shabaab
Islamist militants have car-bombed Camalow Hotel in Bulobarde in central Somalia that was being used by African Union (AU) and Somali military forces.
The al Qaeda-linked al Shabaab movement said its raid claimed many lives.
Gunfire continued for five hours afterwards and about 14 people - fighters from all sides are believed to have died.
Somalia's African Union peacekeeping force AMISOM, now bigger after Ethiopian troops joined this year, has launched an offensive to clear territory still held by al Shabaab.
The Islamists have responded with more guerrilla assaults and have threatened attacks on contributors to the African force, such as Kenya and Uganda.
Regional nations and the West worry that, unless al Shabaab is denied the use of such territory, it will be able to plan strikes well beyond Somalia's borders, such as the attack on a Kenyan shopping mall last year that killed at least 67 people.
Al Shabaab said it carried out that attack to punish Kenya for sending troops to Somalia. Kenya said it had arrested two suspected al Shabaab militants with bombs that might have targeted the coast which is popular with tourists.
Bulobarde which has a strategic bridge over the River Shabelle and is at a crossroads linking various regions of the country, was controlled by al Shabaab until last week. It lies about 210 km (130 miles) north of Mogadishu, where al Shabaab has carried out frequent raids on targets that follow similar pattern, with a car bombing followed by an assault by gunmen.
Al-Shabab lost control of Mogadishu in 2011, but has intensified bombings and mortar raids in the city in recent weeks. Last month, al-Shabab fighters stormed Villa Somalia, the seat of government in Mogadishu, killing at least 11 people.