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Seven Al-Shabaab militants were killed in a suicide attack carried out by the Islamist group in the heart of Mogadishu late on Saturday afternoon, the Somali government said Sunday.
The attack at a detention facility holding some of the group’s militants lasted for hours and epitomises a worsening situation for Somalia, a poor and unstable country in the Horn of Africa.
The country has witnessed a resurgence in attacks from the Al-Qaeda affiliated group.
“The security forces succeeded in ending the terrorist attack, shooting all seven gunmen who were involved,” the Somali interior ministry said in a statement.
A powerful explosion on Saturday afternoon signalled the beginning of the attack, and its shockwaves were felt by an AFP correspondent two kilometres (1.2 miles) away at the time.
Reaching the location 30 minutes later, the correspondent heard multiple explosions and intense gunfire exchanges from the Godka Jilicow detention facility.
Godka Jilicow, which is near the presidential palace, often holds Al-Shabaab militants before they go to trial.
Local residents told AFP they could hear sporadic gunfire for more than three hours after the assault began.
The government has not indicated how many of its security forces were killed during the incident.
Somalia has been in conflict with Al-Shabaab since the mid-2000s, with varying degrees of success.
But the situation has deteriorated significantly this year.
The group has seized control of dozens of towns and villages since the beginning of the year, undoing nearly all governmental progress made during a 2022-2023 military campaign.
Despite the tense situation, Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud is pushing for the country to hold its first direct elections next year.
The head of state also visited the province of Jubaland on Sunday, where recent clashes, primarily over electoral disagreements, have occurred between the army and regional forces
