Gunfire, explosions rock Somalian capital

MAGADISHU, Feb. 16  (YPA) –  The capital, Mogadishu witnessed gunfire and explosions in the early hours of Wednesday as al-Shabaab militants attacked police stations and security checkpoints, Somalia’s internal security minister said.

“The terrorists attacked the suburbs of Mogadishu and targeted our police stations and checkpoints,” Abdullahi Nor, the internal security minister, wrote on Twitter in the early hours of Wednesday.

“Our security defeated the enemy,” he added.

There were no immediate details on casualties or claims for responsibility.

Initial sources said a police station in the Kahda neighbourhood came under heavy attack, which began with bombings followed by fierce gunfights.

Somalia has been in a bloody conflict for years between government forces and al-Qaeda-linked al-Shabaab militants, which seeks to take control of the Horn of Africa state and govern it in accordance with its hardline interpretation of Islamic law.

E.M