Al-Shabab attacks Somalia parliament

Armed rebel group Al-Shabab carried out a multipronged attack on Saturday against Somalia’s parliament building that involved a car bomb, a suicide bomber and gunmen on foot, police said.

The death toll in the attack was unclear. At least four policemen were reported killed when a car bomb exploded at the gate of the parliament building in Mogadishu, which was followed by a blast from a suicide bomber, police Col. Farah Hussein told Reuters.

“So far we have confirmed four policemen dead," he said. “The lawmakers and the other workers were rescued as soon as the car bomb exploded. But the terrorists are still firing from inside a mosque nearby," he added.

Police Capt. Mohamed Hussein told the Associated Press that six of the attackers had also been killed. Security forces shot and killed four men, and the two other attackers who died were the driver of the car bomb and the bomber on foot, he said.

Abdikarim Hussein, a journalist in Mogadishu, told Al Jazeera that the attack happened while parliament was in session.

It was not immediately clear if the attackers had managed to enter the parliament complex. However, two members of parliament were wounded by gunfire, according to legislator Mohamed Ali.

Abdulaziz Abu Musab, the military spokesman of Al-Shabab, told Reuters that "the so-called Somali parliament is a military zone. Our fighters are there to carry out a holy operation. We shall issue a comprehensive report after the conclusion of the operation." 

Prime Minister Abdiweli Ahmed released a statement vowing retaliation for the attack.

"The terrorists have once again shown that they are against all Somalis, by killing our innocent brothers and sisters,” he said. “This attack will not deter the government of Somalia from continuing to hunt down and destroy the terrorists and build a peaceful Somalia that terrorists will never rule over."

Al-Shabab, an Al-Qaeda-linked group, has carried out several well-coordinated attacks in Mogadishu, including on the city's main court complex and attempts against the presidential palace.

Al-Shabab was booted out of the capital in 2011, but still controls wide areas of southern Somalia. It has also launched attacks in neighboring Kenya in retaliation for the country sending Kenyan troops to Somalia to fight the group.

Public warnings of attacks have been near constant in Kenya in recent months, particularly after the group’s attack on Nairobi’s Westgate Mall left at least 67 people dead in September.

Al Jazeera and wire services