At least 15 dead after al-Shabab gunmen storm government building in Somalia

24.03.2019 01:51

«Metro UK»

At least 15 dead after al-Shabab gunmen storm government building in Somalia

A government minister is among the killed.

Al-Shabab gunmen have killed at least 15 people, including a minister, after setting off a car suicide bomb and storming a government building, police have said.

Somalia’s security force disabled the five attackers in a gun battle lasting several hours inside the government building which houses the labour and public works ministries.

Saqar Ibrahim Abdalla, Somalia’s deputy minister of labour and social affairs, was killed in his ground-floor office shortly after gunmen entered the building this afternoon.

A woman stands behind wreckage left from a suicide car bomb attack on a government building in the capital Mogadishu, Somalia Saturday, March 23, 2019. Al-Shabab gunmen stormed into the government building following a suicide car bombing at the gates on Saturday, a police officer said, in the latest attack by Islamic extremist fighters in the Horn of Africa nation. (AP Photo/Farah Abdi Warsameh) — A suicide attacker set off a car bomb after reportedly ramming it into a government building (Picture: AP)

Somalis carry away the body of a civilian victim who was shot dead by gunmen during a suicide car bomb attack on a government building in the capital Mogadishu, Somalia, Saturday, March 23, 2019. Al-Shabab gunmen stormed the government building after a suicide car bombing, killing at least five people including the country's deputy labor minister, police said, in the latest attack by Islamic extremist fighters in the Horn of Africa nation. (AP Photo/Farah Abdi Warsameh) — At least 15 have been killed (Picture: AP)

Abdikadir Abdirahman, the director of Amin Ambulance Service said another 11 people have been wounded.

The al-Qaida-linked al-Shabab extremist group has claimed responsibility for the attack.

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The terror group claimed one of its fighters rammed the building with the car bomb, allowing others to gain entry, according to Al Jazeera.

Dozens of people were inside the building at the time as Saturday is a working day in Somalia.

The building is not far from the headquarters of the Somali intelligence agency.

Somali civilians and medical workers run for cover from gunfire during ongoing fighting between government soldiers and gunmen after a suicide car bomb attack on a government building in the capital Mogadishu, Somalia Saturday, March 23, 2019. Al-Shabab gunmen stormed into the government building following a suicide car bombing at the gates on Saturday, a police officer said, in the latest attack by Islamic extremist fighters in the Horn of Africa nation. (AP Photo/Farah Abdi Warsameh) — Civilians run for cover during the attack (Picture: AP)

Somalis walk past wreckage after a suicide car bomb attack on a government building in the capital Mogadishu, Somalia Saturday, March 23, 2019. Al-Shabab gunmen stormed the government building after a suicide car bombing, killing at least five people including the country's deputy labor minister, police said, in the latest attack by Islamic extremist fighters in the Horn of Africa nation. (AP Photo/Farah Abdi Warsameh) — A government minister was one of the victims of the attack (Picture: AP)

As the attack unfolded, gunfire could be heard from inside the building and witnessed said they could see white smoke billowed from the scene.

A similar attack targeting a busy area in Mogadishu at the end of February killed at least 24 people.

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Al-Shabab, Africa’s most active Islamic extremist group, has been fighting for years to take power and create an Islamic state in Somalia.

It frequently carries out suicide bombings targeting public places, hotels and government offices despite being pushed out of Mogadishu in 2011.

Since being ejected from the country’s capital, the group has mainly operated from the country’s rural south.

Somali government soldiers run to take positions during ongoing fighting with gunmen after a suicide car bomb attack on a government building in the capital Mogadishu, Somalia Saturday, March 23, 2019. Al-Shabab gunmen stormed into the government building following a suicide car bombing at the gates on Saturday, a police officer said, in the latest attack by Islamic extremist fighters in the Horn of Africa nation. (AP Photo/Farah Abdi Warsameh) — Somali government soldiers run to take positions during the gun battle which lasted several hours (Picture: AP)

Somali civilians run for cover from gunfire during ongoing fighting between government soldiers and gunmen after a suicide car bomb attack on a government building in the capital Mogadishu, Somalia Saturday, March 23, 2019. Al-Shabab gunmen stormed into the government building following a suicide car bombing at the gates on Saturday, a police officer said, in the latest attack by Islamic extremist fighters in the Horn of Africa nation. (AP Photo/Farah Abdi Warsameh) — Al-Shabab have claimed responsibility for the attack (Picture: AP)

African Union peacekeepers stationed in Mogadishu and elsewhere in the country have helped Somali forces to keep al-Shabab fighters at bay.

The extremist group has also carried out many deadly attacks in neighbouring Kenya in retaliation over the country’s deployment in 2011 of peacekeepers in Somalia.

The US military has carried out a number of deadly airstrikes in recent months against al-Shabab.