Mogadishu , Somalia ( CNN ) A siege that started with gunmen detonating a bomb and spraying bullets in a hotel in Somalia ended Saturday with at least 20 people dead , authorities said . Among the dead was a Somali-American woman , Fahia Bashir Nur , 45 , of Alexandria , Virginia , according to her uncle , Yusuf Kheire . He said Nur and her mother were dining in the hotel when the attack began . The mother lost an arm in the attack and was hospitalized . The attack , which lasted hours , began when gunmen raided the hotel in Mogadishu on Friday evening . Yusuf Mohamed Ismail Bari-Bari , Somalia 's permanent representative to the United Nations in Geneva , Switzerland , was among those killed in the attack , the Somali government said . `` He will be remembered for his strong personal commitment to protecting and promoting human rights for all , '' Nicholas Kay , special representative of the United Nations Secretary-General to Somalia , said of Bari-Bari . Islamist militant group Al-Shabaab claimed responsibility . The attack started about 5 p.m. local time when a car bomb exploded at the hotel 's entrance , according to witness Aden Hussein , who said he was nearby when the blast happened . Gunmen then stormed into the hotel and opened fire , Hussein said . They overpowered the hotel 's security guards , said police Capt . Ahmed Abdi , adding that the gunbattle between Somali special forces and the attackers lasted at least 17 hours . One of the attackers , who was wearing a belt with explosives , blew himself up inside the hotel , police Capt . Ahmed Abdi said . Some members of the terror group `` stormed into the first , second and third floors of the hotel where rooms are located and held several people hostage , '' according to a statement from the African Union Commission in Somalia , a peacekeeping mission . The Makka Al Mukarama hotel , located along a highway leading to the country 's presidential palace , is popular with lawmakers , journalists , business people and Somalis returning home from abroad . Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud condemned the attack as a `` heinous and inhuman act '' in an interview with state-run Radio Mogadishu during an official visit to Egypt . In a statement , Somali Prime Minister Omar Abdirashid Ali Sharmarke said Al-Shabaab 's `` talk of 'legitimate targets ' and 'justification ' '' exposes `` the sham logic behind their lust for terror . '' `` These terrorists contradict Islam and betray Somalia , '' he said . The injured , along with the bodies of the dead , could not be removed from the hotel until after the hours-long gunfight . More than 10 people , most of them Kenyan nationals who worked at the hotel , were rescued , police said . Al-Shabaab said it targeted the hotel because its guests are spies and government officials . The terror group has been active in Somalia for years . Initially , its goal was implementing a stricter form of Islamic law , or Sharia , by warring against the Somali government . It has since shifted its focus to launching terror attacks in Somalia and beyond . `` We reiterate again that there will be no safe haven for the crusaders and apostates in Somalia , and that our attacks on them will continue until the enemy of Allah ( is ) defeated and his law is implemented fully in Somalia , '' the group said in a statement . CNN 's Faith Karimi wrote from Atlanta , and Journalist Omar Nor reported from Mogadishu . CNN 's Ray Sanchez , Merieme Arif and Jason Hanna contributed to this report .
Somali - American journalist Bashir Nur of police was killed in the attack , her lawyer injured . Witness : terrorists detonate a car bomb , then shoot people inside hotel . The mosque is popular with lawmakers , journalists and business people .