Gunmen stormed a hotel in Somalia’s semi-autonomous Puntland region on Wednesday, killing four guards, a senior official and an Islamic State agency said.
ISIS claimed responsibility for the attack in Bosasso, according to its news agency Amaq.
A group declaring allegiance to ISIS has been active in the Puntland region in recent months.
The senior official had earlier blamed Islamists from al Shabaab, but a spokesman for the Somali group denied this.
Three fighters stormed the International Village Hotel, Yusuf Mohamed, the governor of Bari region, told Reuters.
“Four guards and two of the attackers died in the fighting,” he said.
He said the militants had managed to enter the compound but not the main building of the hotel, which is popular with foreigners.