MOGADISHU (Reuters) - Al Shabaab militants attacked several police stations and security checkpoints in Somalia’s capital Mogadishu early on Wednesday, officials and the militants said, a show of force as the nation prepares for a much-delayed presidential election.
State TV reported that five people, two of them children, were killed in two attacks, one a police station in the Kahda district and another in the Darasalam district.
The al Qaeda-linked militants carry out frequent attacks against the government and last week attacked a minibus carrying election delegates.
The group’s spokesman, Abdiasis Abu Musab, said fighters hit government targets in four districts in the capital and another area on the outskirts. He said the militants overran government bases and seized military vehicles and weapons.
It was not immediately possible to verify those claims.
Internal security minister Abdullahi Nor wrote on Twitter early on Wednesday: “The terrorists attacked the suburbs of Mogadishu and targeted our police stations and checkpoints. Our security defeated the enemy.”
A Reuters witness who visited the scene of an attack on the Kahda police station said the building was destroyed, along with nearby houses. Local resident Halima Faragh told Reuters the explosions sounded like an earthquake and said she and her family fled their home in fear.
The group launches regular attacks on government, military and civilian targets. It also aims to drive out African Union peacekeeping troops.
Meanwhile, the country is also beset by the growing threat of Daesh as the Takfiri terrorist group is seeking to find a new foothold after being vanquished from Iraq and much of Syria.
A France mission, known as Barkhane, began operating in Mali in 2013 to purportedly counter militants that Paris claims are linked to the al-Qaeda and Daesh terrorist groups.
Mali said late last year that it has evidence that France has been training terrorist groups operating in the West African country.