13 killed in Al-Shabaab attack on Mogadishu prison

At least 13 people were killed and others injured Sunday in a daring attach by Al-Shabaab militant group on a prison in Mogadishu, eyewitnesses and security sources said Sunday. According to eyewitnesses, a group of Al-Shabaab militants attacked Godka Jili'ow prison, eastern Mogadishu, where several Al-Shabaab detainees are being held.
The militants detonated several explosive-laden cars before trying to break into the prison amid heavy fighting with the prison guards, they added.
A security source told Anadolu Agency that eight of the attackers were killed in the clashes along with two civilians and three soldiers.
The prison, he said, is located near the presidential palace and used by the Somali intelligence to hold Al-Shabaab detainees.
Mohamed Youssef, a spokesman for the Interior Ministry, said that the attackers were killed before getting into the prison.
Somalia, a long-troubled Horn of Africa country, has remained in the grip of violence since the outbreak of civil war in 1991.
The battered country had appeared to inch closer to stability with the intervention of African Union troops tasked with combatting Al-Shabaab militant group.
Yet, the group still remains active in several parts of the country, waging a relentless campaign of attacks against government officials and security sites, which left hundreds dead.
By Abdel-Qader Foudi