According to the police, at least two explosive charges must have detonated shortly before the armed men entered the Hayat hotel, writes Reuters.
According to the BBC, the terrorist organization Al Shabaab has published a message online in which they claim to have taken over the hotel complex and that they are "shooting everyone".
According to security sources, firefights are ongoing between the attackers and the police and military.
Several people are said to have been killed.
SVT has been in contact with a person living in Mogadishu who claims to have heard three smaller explosions and one significantly larger one.
He tells us that Hotel Hayat is popular with government officials and usually heavily guarded.
To get past the roadblocks and up to the hotel complex, a lot of explosives and weapons are needed.
And that an attacker who has succeeded in forcing the shell protection can then barricade himself and commit a massacre.
The article is updated.