Attackers detonated a suicide car bomb outside the gates of the hotel before storming the building and taking hostages. Somali officials said security forces swept the building Saturday night to end the siege, killing at least four militants.
Hotels frequented by lawmakers and government officials aren't unusual targets for terrorism. Al-Shabab claimed a similar attack that left 16 people dead at the Ambassador Hotel in early June.
The group has been largely driven out of Mogadishu and other Somali cities thanks to intervention from the African Union, but it still has the capability to launch terror attacks.
This video includes clips from the BBC and CCTV.