Somali troops regained full control of a hotel, which extremist gunmen stormed and occupied for 12 hours following a suicide attack, which killed at least 17 people and left dozens injured.

According to information, Somalia's permanent representative to the United Nations in Geneva was among those killed in the attack on the hotel in Mogadishu, the BBC reports.

Al-Shabaab, which is an Islamic extremist group linked to al-Qaeda, claimed responsibility for the attack on the hotel, which is popular with Somali officials and foreigners.

The attack started on Friday, when a suicide bomber detonated his car at the hotel's gate and gunmen quickly proceeded to occupy the hotel.

The security forces waited until daylight on Saturday, when they stormed the hotel, raised the siege and regained control of it.