A huge explosion has occurred near a popular hotel in the Somali capital, Mogadishu.   Witnesses say the massive blast occurred Sunday near Hotel Afrik, located in the vicinity of a busy security checkpoint en route to the Mogadishu airport. Militant group al-Shabab claimed responsibility. Polce say al-Shabab members stormed the hotel but that most of the people inside were rescued, including Somalia’s former state minister for defense, Yusuf Siad Indha-Adde. A VOA reporter, Abdikafi Yusuf Aden, was also inside the hotel at the time and survived.   
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