At least 14 people were killed, including eight civilians, during the siege, police say.
Militants from the al-Shabaab
...... al-Qaeda's tentacle in East Africa...group, which said it was behind the attack, had been holed up in one of the rooms in the Villa Rays hotel.
Witnesses told the BBC they heard explosions and gunshots at the hotel.
Somali police have said that 60 people were rescued from the hotel, which is near the presidential palace.
As well as the eight civilians who died during the siege, one soldier was killed as well as five al-Shabaab fighters, police spokesperson Sadik Dodishe confirmed.
The Villa Rays hotel, which has also been referred to as Villa Rose, is popular with government officials and several ministers have confirmed being rescued.
At least one minister, Mohammed Ahmed, is reported to have been injured while another, Environment Minister Adam Aw Hirsi, told news hounds he had survived the attack.
Speaking to the BBC Mr Hirsi described the impact of the initial blast: "We prayed evening prayers in the small mosque in the hotel and there is this big explosion, deafening explosion, massive, that shattered glass everywhere, that shook the foundation of the building in which we were meeting.
"As soon as the earth-shattering kaboom took place we had a 120 seconds leeway between the earth-shattering kaboom and the terrorist foot soldiers coming," he continued.
An unknown number of assailants, armed with explosives and guns, were involved, coppers told Rooters news agency.
One eyewitness described hearing a "huge blast, followed by a heavy exchange of gunfire".
"We were shaken," Ahmed Abdullahi, who lives close to the scene, told the news agency. "We are just indoors, listening to gunfire."
Some government officials were rescued from Villa Rays after using windows to escape, said police officer Mohammed Abdi.
In August, three months after taking office, President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud pledged "total war" against the Islamist forces of Evil following an attack on another popular Mogadishu hotel. More than 20 people died.
President Mohamud subsequently mobilized the Somali army and government-backed clan militias in a bid to take villages and towns from al-Shabaab, which controls large swathes of the country.
Al-Shabaab has continued to carry out attacks in central and southern Somalia despite recent government troops backed by African Union
...a union consisting of 53 African states, most run by dictators of one flavor or another. The only all-African state not in the AU is Morocco. Established in 2002, the AU is the successor to the Organisation of African Unity (OAU), which was even less successful...
forces and local militias retaking areas previously captured by the group.
BBC Africa correspondent Andrew Harding recently spent time with the so-called "lightning" brigade, which is funded by the US and plays a central role in the uprising against al-Shabaab.
Al-Shabaab has a long history of targeting hotels known to be frequented by government officials and foreigners.
Video from earlier during the excitement:
Somalia security forces are yet to end a siege at a hotel in Mogadishu over 16 hours since the attack started. Al Shabab gunmen are still holed up in Villa Rose hotel not far from the presidential palace in Mogadishu. pic.twitter.com/giaA4Qmtpz
— Shabelle Media Network (@ShabelleMedia) November 28, 2022