Officials say Al Shabaab militants stormed numerous police stations and security checkpoints in Mogadishu, Somalia’s capital, early on Wednesday, as the East-African nation prepares for its presidential election.
Reports indicate that five people, two of them children, were killed in two attacks, one at a police station in the Kahda district and another in the Darasalam district.
Al-Shabaab Spokesman Abdiasis Abu Musab said fighters hit government targets in four districts in the capital and another area on the outskirts. He said the militants overran government bases and seized military vehicles and weapons around Kahda district.
It should be recalled that terrorists affiliated to Al Qaeda have carried out numerous attacks against the government, including an attack last week on a minibus transporting election delegates.
Confirming the incident in a statement on Twitter, Somalia’s Internal Security Minister Abdullahi Nor said; “The terrorists attacked the suburbs of Mogadishu and targeted our police stations and checkpoints. Our security defeated the enemy.”