MOGADISHU, Somalia, April 14 (UPI) -- At least nine people were killed and 10 were injured in an al-Shabab attack on Somalia's Ministry of Education in Mogadishu, the country's capital, on Tuesday.
A car loaded with explosives was driven into the main gate at the ministry's grounds. Gunmen stormed the building afterwards and a gunbattle began between militants and security guards. Somali special forces later joined the effort and helped people escape during the attack.
Al-Shabab claimed responsibility. The grounds also contain the Ministry of Petroleum and Mineral Resources.
There are reports that some gunmen fled by escaping over the compound's walls.
Al-Shabab imposes strict Islamic law in the areas it controls within Somalia and frequently carries out attacks, including the 2013 Westgate shopping mall attack in Kenya in which at least 67 people were killed. Security in Mogadishu has improved since al-Shabab lost control of the capital in 2011.
Al-Shabab took responsibility of the Garissa University College attack in Kenya. On April 2, masked gunmen, belonging to the Somali militant group, stormed the university and engaged police and military forces in a daylong siege. At least 148 people were killed.
Somalia's Minister of Internal Security Abdirizak Omar reported the attack on the Ministry of Education ended.
BREAKING: I'm at the Ministry of Education right now. Our brave troops took full control of edifice, rescued all inside. #Mogadishu #Somalia
— Abdirizak Omar (@MoIS_Somalia) April 14, 2015
