Mogadishu,(ANN)- Somalia The number of people killed when bombers and gunmen struck a popular hotel in Somalia’s capital has risen to 39 from the initial 22, police say.

Guards at Sahafi hotel and the adjacent CID office opened fire after two car bombs went off on Friday afternoon. A third explosion from a bomb placed in a three-wheeled “tuk-tuk” vehicle near the hotel also hit the busy street.

“We have confirmed 39 civilians died and 40 others were injured in yesterday’s blasts,” said Mohamed Hussein, a police officer in the city.

The wreckage of a van destroyed during a bomb attack is seen near Sahafi hotel in Mogadishu, Somalia, on November 10, 2018. (Photo by Reuters)

“The death toll may rise because some people are still missing.”

The al-Shabab militant group, linked to al-Qaeda, claimed responsibility for the attack on Hotel Sahafi, which is near the headquarters of Somalia’s Criminal Investigations Department (CID).

Somalia has been engulfed by violence and lawlessness since dictator Mohamed Siad Barre was toppled in the early 1990s.

(Source: Reuters)