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Seven al-Shabab militants who attacked a high-security prison in Somalia’s capital have all been killed, the country’s government has said.<\/p>\n
A huge explosion and gunfire were heard coming from Godka Jilicow – a detention centre that holds al-Shabab militants – in Mogadishu on Saturday evening.<\/p>\n
In a statement, al-Shabab said it released “all the Muslim prisoners” from the facility and inflicted heavy casualties on those guarding the centre.<\/p>\n
The militants disguised themselves as soldiers in order to enter the prison, government-run news agency Sonna Live reported on Sunday.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
The government did not indicate how many of its security forces were killed during the incident, but gave its condolences to the families of “the fallen heroes”.<\/p>\n
Likewise, al-Shabab did not give a death toll for its militants.<\/p>\n
The fighting began at around 16:40 local time (13:40 GMT).<\/p>\n
Godka Jilicow is located near the Somali presidential palace, in the heart of Mogadishu. It is manned by Somalia’s National Intelligence and Security Agency (Nisa) and holds al-Shabab militants and other high-profile detainees.<\/p>\n
The attack is a major blow to Nisa and is likely to raise questions about how the militants were able to access one of the most heavily guarded areas in the capital.<\/p>\n
Al-Shabab is affiliated to al-Qaeda and has waged a brutal insurgency against the government in Somalia for nearly 20 years.<\/p>\n
Hours before Saturday’s attack took place, the government had reopened key roads in Mogadishu which were previously closed for security reasons, citing improvements in the city’s safety.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n