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Al Shabaab Fighters Storm Higher Education Ministry in Mogadishu, Killing at Least 10

The Somali militants attacked the building with a suicide car bomb before opening fire inside. The assault follows the massacre of 148 people by the group at a Kenyan university earlier this month.
Image via AP

Fighters from the Islamist terror group al Shabaab stormed the higher education ministry in the Somali capital Mogadishu on Tuesday, reportedly killing at least ten people and wounding several others.

Seven militants also died in the assault, which began when a car laden with explosives was driven into the wall of a government complex in the center of the capital Mogadishu. Gunmen then entered the compound and opened fire.

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Ridwan Abdiweli, a Somali government spokesman, said that the dead included eight civilians and two soldiers. Abdikadir Abdirahman, director of Mogadishu's ambulance service, told Reuters at least 15 civilians had died, though this could not be independently confirmed.

State radio reported that the head of security at the ministry was among those killed.

"First two blasts occurred, a bike blast and a car blast, outside the building, then armed fighters stormed in," police officer Major Ali Nu, told Reuters.

Somali and African Union troops clashed with the militants for around an hour and a half before securing the building.

PHOTOS: Aftermath of today's — Live From Mogadishu (@Daudoo)April 14, 2015

Responsibility for the assault was immediately claimed by al Shabaab. The group has been battling the United Nations-backed government in Somalia and has also mounted major attacks in neighboring Kenya, which has sent troops into Somali territory as part of international efforts against the militants.

Last week, a bounty was placed on the top 11 al Shabaab leaders by the Somali authorities.

Permanent Secretary of Higher Education Ministery and Press Officer are among the injured in todays attack in Mogadishu.— Mohamed Moalimu (@MOALIMUU)April 14, 2015

The group began as an offshoot the Union of Islamic Courts, the now-defunct alliance of sharia courts which took control of Mogadishu in 2006 before being forced out by an Ethiopia-backed offensive. At one point much of southern Somalia had fallen to al Shabaab, though it has lost considerable ground in the last few years.

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One — Mogadishu News (@MogadishuNews)April 14, 2015

They have frequently attacked government buildings in the capital and last month mounted a suicide bombing and 12-hour siege at a popular hotel. The attack killed 17 people, including the Somali ambassador to Switzerland, Yusuf Baribari.

Al Shabaab — whose name means "The Youth" in Arabic, appears to be stepping up assaults on educational institutions, earlier this month massacring 148 people, most of them Christian students, at a university in the Kenyan town of Garissa. On Sunday, fear of an attack at the University of Nairobi sparked a stampede after an electricity transformer exploded, with one person killed as students fled their halls and jumped from windows.

Follow Mikey Aveline on Twitter: @MikeyAveline

VICE News' Hannah Strange also contributed to this article.