(Rptg, correcting matter in para 1)
Mogadishu, Nov 10 (UNI) As many as 39 people were killed and 40 sustained injuries in a series of car bomb explosions that hit near the popular Sahafi Hotel in Somalia's Capital Mogadishu, police said on Saturday.
Two car bombs exploded near the Sahafi Hotel and the Criminal Investigations Department (CID) and the third one exploded on a busy street near the hotel, reported Aljazeera.
Al-Shabab, the armed group which was forced out of the capital and other major urban areas by Somali and African Union multinational forces in 2011, claimed responsibility for the attack.
"The death toll may rise because some people are still missing," police said.
Sahafi Hotel is frequented by foreigners due to its relative security as well as its view overlooking Mogadishu.
UNI XC JTS 1833/1854