Militants set off two car bombs outside a police base in Somalia’s capital before gunmen stormed inside on Sunday, leaving at least 10 people dead, police said.
The militant group Al Shabaab claimed the assault on the headquarters of Somalia’s Criminal Investigation Department in Mogadishu. It was the second major operation in the city this week by the group which has kept up a guerilla war on the western-backed government in the face of US drone strikes and African peacekeeping forces, Reuters reported.
Heavy gunfire rang out inside for about half an hour after the first blast, said witnesses. The bodies of four civilians lay in the street near the compound that was partially destroyed. A kiosk close to the wall caught fire. “At least 10 people, including four militants, five civilians and a soldier, died in today’s attack,” said Hussein Ali, a police officer. Another 15 people were injured, some seriously, he added.
