Suspected suicide car bomb at hotel gate in Somali capital - police

MOGADISHU (Reuters) - A suspected suicide car bomb exploded at the gate of a hotel in the Somali capital on Sunday, a police officer said. There was no immediate claim of responsibility but the Islamist militant group al Shabaab frequently launches bomb and gun attacks against officials and others in the capital in its bid to topple Somalia's Western-backed government. "A suicide car bomb exploded at the gate of Jazeera Hotel," Major Nur Osoble, a police officer, told Reuters, adding it was too early to know if there were any casualties. Ambulances sirens sounded and sounds of gunfire were heard. (Reporting by Abdi Sheikh; writing by Edmund Blair; editing by Jason Neely)