According to the ministry of information, at least five civilians were murdered when members of the al-Shabab armed group detonated a bomb before storming a government facility in Mogadishu, the capital of Somalia.
Around midday (09:00 GMT), attackers from the group broke into the building housing the mayor of Mogadishu’s office and exchanged gunfire with security personnel, according to the ministry on Sunday.
According to a statement on its Facebook page, security personnel killed six members of the armed organization and evacuated the area by around 6 o’clock.
Since the government of President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud began an offensive against the al-Qaeda-affiliated group in August, al-Shabab has increased attacks as a sign of fortitude.
“A blast deafened us while we were in the office. We escaped. Gunfire then ensued, the mayor’s office employee Farah Abdullahi told Reuters.
According to Abdikadir Abdirahman, director of Aamin Ambulance Services, sixteen persons were hurt in the attack.
In a heavily secured neighborhood of Mogadishu, the local government building houses the mayor’s office.
Al-Shabab claimed in a statement that after its bombings killed the building guards, “foot fighters infiltrated the building.”
The armed group often conducts bombings and gun attacks all around the nation while fighting the government since 2006 and attempting to impose its own interpretation of Islamic law.
State TV in Jubbaland, one of Somalia’s semi-autonomous states, reported on Sunday that regional and federal forces had attacked al-Shabab and seized control of Janay Abdale town from the armed group. This was a sign that the government was extending its offensive against the group into Somalia’s south.
