(AhlulBayt News Agency) - At least nine people were killed in an attack on Somalia’s interior ministry, police have said.
Security forces killed all three attackers after a two-hour gun battle in the capital, Mogadishu, on Saturday, police said. The terrorist group al-Shabaab has claimed responsibility for the attack.
A number of people, mostly government workers, were trapped in the ministry on what had been a normal business day. Witnesses said some staffers died or were injured while leaping from windows or walls in an effort to escape.
At least 13 people were wounded, Mohamed Adam, a paramedic, said. The death toll could rise, Col Ahmed Mohamed said.
The morning attack began when a suicide car bomb detonated at the gates of the interior ministry compound, which is close to the presidential palace and parliament headquarters and also holds the security ministry, police Capt Mohamed Hussein said.
Dozens of people were rescued in the operation, Hussein said.
The Somalia-based al-Shabaab, an arm of al-Qaida, often targets high-profile areas of the capital. The group was blamed for the October truck bombing that killed more than 500 people in the deadliest attack in the country’s history.
