Somali ministry says 10 killed in Shabaab attack on officials’ house

Ten Somalians were Tuesday killed in an attack in Mogadishu claimed by the Al Qaeda-linked Al-Shabaab group, which said it was targeting military officials and militia fighters involved in an attack against it.

“The Tuesday attack began with a car bomb blast followed by gunfire that went on for hours at a house in Mogadishu where several lawmakers were believed to be staying,” a witness told Reuters.

Somalia’s Information Ministry late on Tuesday said that 10 civilians were killed but did not say who was targeted. The ministry further stated that security forces killed the four militant gunmen involved in the attack.

Show of resurgence

Al-Shabaab has stepped up attacks in a show of resurgence since President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud’s government launched attacks against the group in August.

“A suicide bomber first detonated a car outside the house and then Al Shabaab militants stormed in while firing guns,” Farah Aden, a witness, said.

The fire exchange between Al-Shabaab fighters and Somalia security forces lasted for about eight hours.

Four soldiers and three civilians were also wounded before the gunfire ended.

Al-Shabaab said in a statement it had killed 70 people in the attack, which targeted the house because it offered accommodation to military officials and wounded militia members from the Central Hiraan region of Somalia recovering from attacks.

The Somalian government and Al-Shabaab often give differing casualty figures.

Somali government forces and allied clan militias known as ‘Macawisley’, pushed Al Shabaab out of Hiraan last year.