MOGADISHU, Somalia, Aug. 24 (UPI) -- Somali gunman dressed as police officers stormed a hotel in Mogadishu Tuesday, killing more than 30 people, including several Somali lawmakers, officials said.
"It's our understanding that there were over 30 killed, including six parliamentarians," John Brennan, assistant to the president for counter-terrorism and homeland security, told reporters in Washington.
A Somali-backed broadcaster reported eight bodies were seen in the hotel near the presidential palace.
Al-Shabaab, a Somali fundamentalist militia tied to al-Qaida, began an offensive Monday. Health officials said at least 40 people have died and more than 130 have been wounded since the assault began.
Militants and troops engaged in fierce room-by-room battles, with witnesses telling The New York Times several lawmakers tried to lock themselves in their rooms. Witnesses said gunmen also barricaded themselves in hotel rooms and were seen firing their weapons from windows, with shots landing in residential areas.
Al-Shabaab has vowed to topple the fragile transitional government, officials said.
Somalia's government, which controls just a few blocks of the capital city, called the assault during the holy month of Ramadan an attack "against Islamic religion" and urged Somalis to fight back.
"They are using all tactics," one Somali official said. "They don't care about Ramadan. They are criminals. They are terrorists."
In Washington, Brennan called the attack "a particularly outrageous act during the Islamic month of Ramadan."
"... The United States will continue to partner with those who oppose terrorism, extremism and violence in all forms, and will continue to work very closely with those in Africa, particularly in the Horn of Africa in Somalia, who are interested in ensuring that Africa can build and realize its full potential and prosperity for all Africans," he said.
