Al Shabaab attacks police station near Somalia capital
- 10 years ago
Originally published on November 20, 2013
Somalian Islamist militant group al Shabaab has claimed responsibility for a deadly attack at a police station about 200 miles north of the Somali capital of Mogadishu on Tuesday.
According to CNN the militants killed at least 12 people. Al Jazeera reported at least 19 dead.
They first forced their way inside Beledweyne police station by ramming a car packed with explosive into the station's gate.
Some militants entered the building right after the explosion and started an hour long shootout with police, Al Jazeera reported.
Somali legislator Dahir Amin Jesow said some of the attackers were among the confirmed dead.
"The death toll can rise," Jesow said, "because the militants unexpectedly entered and shot anyone they saw. We do not yet know the exact number of attackers," Al Jazeera reported.
African peacekeepers and Somali troops then surrounded the compound and opened fire. Witnesses said the shooting inside the building stopped right afterwards.
A spokesperson for al Shabaab, which has links with al-Qaeda, claimed responsibility for the attack.
According to CNN, al Shabaab is fighting the Somali government in hopes of turning the country into a fundamentalist Islamic state.
According to Reuters, Somali and African forces pushed al Shabaab out of Baladweyne more than a year ago and over the last two years, according to Al Jazeera al Shabaab has been driven out of many of its strongholds, including Mogadishu and Baladweyne.
The group however continues to control rural areas and some towns and has kept up car bombings and guerrilla-style attacks.
Officials and police in the town were not available for comment on Tuesday's attack.
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Somalian Islamist militant group al Shabaab has claimed responsibility for a deadly attack at a police station about 200 miles north of the Somali capital of Mogadishu on Tuesday.
According to CNN the militants killed at least 12 people. Al Jazeera reported at least 19 dead.
They first forced their way inside Beledweyne police station by ramming a car packed with explosive into the station's gate.
Some militants entered the building right after the explosion and started an hour long shootout with police, Al Jazeera reported.
Somali legislator Dahir Amin Jesow said some of the attackers were among the confirmed dead.
"The death toll can rise," Jesow said, "because the militants unexpectedly entered and shot anyone they saw. We do not yet know the exact number of attackers," Al Jazeera reported.
African peacekeepers and Somali troops then surrounded the compound and opened fire. Witnesses said the shooting inside the building stopped right afterwards.
A spokesperson for al Shabaab, which has links with al-Qaeda, claimed responsibility for the attack.
According to CNN, al Shabaab is fighting the Somali government in hopes of turning the country into a fundamentalist Islamic state.
According to Reuters, Somali and African forces pushed al Shabaab out of Baladweyne more than a year ago and over the last two years, according to Al Jazeera al Shabaab has been driven out of many of its strongholds, including Mogadishu and Baladweyne.
The group however continues to control rural areas and some towns and has kept up car bombings and guerrilla-style attacks.
Officials and police in the town were not available for comment on Tuesday's attack.
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TomoNews is your daily source for top animated news. We've combined animation and video footage with a snarky personality to bring you the biggest and best stories from around the world.
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