Story highlights 20 people have died and 17 are wounded

Security minister: Al Shabaab commander who led attack captured

Mogadishu, Somalia (CNN) At least 20 people died and 17 were wounded after a suicide car bomber and gunmen attacked a beachside restaurant-hotel in the capital of Somalia, authorities said. Six attackers were also killed.

Government forces fought a gun battle with the the attackers, who were identified as members of the al Shabaab terror group. The country's security minister said the alleged commander of the attack was captured alive by security forces. The commander was not named.

"This is a barbaric act and we condemn this act," government spokesman Abdisalam Aato said. "Al Shabaab is trying to disrupt the peace and Somalis will not stand for it. We will not be intimidated."

Allcivilians & workers were rescued, Our forces are cleaning the place, — NISA (@HSNQ_NISA) January 21, 2016

The attack started about 7:30 p.m. local time Thursday when a car rammed the gate of the Liido Seafood Restaurant overlooking a Mogadishu beach, said Col. Abdulkadir Mohammed, a senior police officer.

After the blast, militants entered the adjoining hotel -- at least some of them by boat -- Mohammed and a Western source in Mogadishu told CNN. The hotel was crowded with graduation and wedding ceremonies, the National Intelligence & Security Agency (NISA) of Somalia said in a tweet.

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