At least 30 people have been killed and dozens more wounded after al-Qaeda-linked al-Shabaab militants seized a hotel in the Somali capital Mogadishu, popular with government officials, on Friday, the Somali Guardian reported.

Among the dead are former officials, civil servants and national leaders. The head of the Somali Intelligence and Security Agency in Mogadishu and a senior police official were injured after a transport of reinforcements collided with a car bomb.

The troops used explosive devices that destroyed many parts of the upscale hotel and turned the once-posh complex into an apocalyptic war zone.

Unconfirmed reports said drones bombed part of a hotel late on Friday to help end the siege, the longest in recent memory in the Somali capital.

Representatives of the government and security services of Somalia have not yet commented on the attack. US-trained special forces who fought the attackers were withdrawn from the compound, unable to put an end to the attack. Turkish troops were transferred to the complex.