MOGADISHU, Somalia - Militants attacked Somalia's Parliament building on Saturday, with a bomber detonating a car filled with explosives at the building's entrance followed by several other explosions and an assault by gunmen, witnesses and Somali officials said.
The police said that at least four of the militants were killed in the initial attack at the gate of the building that houses the Parliament, which is guarded by the Somali security forces and members of the African Union 's peacekeeping mission in Somalia, known as Amisom. 'The suicide car bomber targeted the Amisom and Somali troops guarding the Parliament gate,' said one witness, Mohamed Abdi. 'I was shocked.'
Mr. Abdi and other witnesses said a gun battle erupted after the bombing as militants stormed the building, where a session of Parliament was underway.
Several members of Parliament reached by phone said they were safe, but two lawmakers were reportedly wounded outside the building, according to colleagues who asked not to be identified because they were not authorized to speak to the news media. Officials could not immediately provide information about possible casualties among the Somali and African Union forces or passers-by.
The Shabab, an Islamist militant group, claimed the responsibility for the attack. The group has carried out similar attacks in Mogadishu, Somalia's capital, including assaults on the presidential palace, the city's court complex and the United Nations compound, and its fighters killed 67 people at a Kenyan shopping mall last year.
Last month, the Shabab killed two lawmakers in a separate assassination attacks in Mogadishu.
The bodies of the dead and wounded, surrounded by pools of blood, could be seen near an entrance gate to the Parliament building. The roads around the building were closed, and ambulance sirens could be heard across the city.
The gun battle began around 11:30 a.m. on Saturday, and explosions and gunfire continued to be heard well into the afternoon.
The deputy minister of national security, Ibrahim Isak Yarow, said in televised remarks that the attack had been foiled and that all members of Parliament in the building had been safely evacuated.
Prime Minister Abdiweli Sheikh Ahmed condemned what he called a 'cowardly' attack on the Somali Parliament by terrorists, but he praised the Somali security forces and the African Union peacekeepers for their swift response.
'The security forces are working hard to contain the situation,' Mr. Ahmed said. 'All members of Parliament have all been accounted for, and the facts surrounding the incident are currently under investigation.'
Posted by Unknown on Saturday, May 24, 2014 - Rating: 4.5
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