Somalia's Shebab rebels carried out a car bomb and gun attack against an intelligence headquarters in central Mogadishu on Sunday, leaving at least seven militants and five others dead. The Al-Qaeda-linked militia claimed responsibility for the raid against the complex, which also houses a major detention facility, saying it was being used for the "torture and humiliation" of "innocent Muslims".
The coordinated attack came a day after Somalia's national army and African Union forces said they had captured a Shebab stronghold as part of a joint offensive aimed at seizing key ports and cutting off an important source of revenue for the Islamist rebels.
In Sunday's attack, police and witnesses said a car bomb was detonated outside the National Intelligence Centre and was followed by a raid by gunmen disguised in national army uniforms - a method of attack already used several times this year by the Shebab.
The Shebab's military spokesman, Abdulaziz Abu Musab, confirmed the militants carried out the attack and claimed the militants had killed 15 government soldiers.