Al-Shebab attacks Somalia parliament; 8 dead

Mogadishu: Somalia’s Shebab rebels launched a brazen attack on the national parliament on Saturday, setting off a car bomb and storming the building with suicide commandos, leaving at least eight dead, police and witnesses said.

Security sources said the “complex attack”, involving bombs and gunmen with suicide vests was finally brought to an end after four hours by Somali security forces and African Union troops.

No official death toll was immediately given but police said at least four attackers were killed, and AFP reporters at the scene also counted four dead security guards.

Witnesses said Shebab militants, the Al-Qaeda-linked group fighting to overthrow Somalia’s internationally-backed but fragile government, stormed into the complex in central Mogadishu while scores of MPs were meeting inside.

A huge car bomb went off outside the gates of the parliament shortly before midday, and a string of smaller blasts followed by intense gunfire were heard coming from inside. A spokesman for Shebab confirmed the group was responsible.

“The so-called Somali parliament is a military zone. Our fighters are there to carry out a holy operation,” Shebab’s military spokesman, Abdulaziz Abu Musab, said.