June 20, 2013 -- Updated 1356 GMT (2156 HKT)
At least 14 people died and 15 were wounded in an attack by militants on
the U.N. headquarters in the Somali capital of Mogadishu, according to
the country's interior and national security minister. FULL STORY
June 19, 2013 -- Updated 1820 GMT (0220 HKT)
Somali soldiers patrol after al Qaeda-linked insurgents shoot their way into the U.N. compound in Mogadishu on June 19.
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
- Civilians, militants and U.N. employees were killed; 15 people were wounded
- Al-Shabaab has claimed responsibility for the attack
- The African Union says the compound has been secured
Seven militants, four
U.N. employees and three female civilians were killed, said Abdikarim
Hussein Guled, the country's interior and national security minister.
The other victims were rushed to a hospital.
Al-Shabaab, the militant group linked to al Qaeda, claimed responsibility, the group said on Twitter.
Prime Minister Abdi Farah
Shirdon deplored the "senseless and despicable" assault against an
agency that has been a friend and partner.
2012: The battle against al-Shabaab
It was the latest in a
series of attacks in the city, the heart of an unstable nation beset
with civil strife, with government and African Union forces battling
Islamic militants for years in an effort to bring stability to the land.
Last month, a suicide
bomber targeted a Qatari delegation, killing at least eight people.
Al-Shabaab also claimed responsibility for that strike.
In April, militants
forced their way into a court building in Mogadishu and killed 29
people, including members of Al-Shabaab, sources said.
Police Officer Hussein
Ahmed said that in Wednesday's violence, one attacker blew himself up at
the entrance of the U.N. compound, which is near the city's airport.
Others wearing suicide
vests entered the U.N. compound. He said Somali and AU forces surrounded
the building and fought with the armed assailants.
The attack devastated
the area. Mangled buses and cars sat in disfigured heaps, the windows of
nearby apartments shattered, the ground littered with blood and body
parts.
A large brown plume of smoke was visible in the air as ambulances rushed to the scene and carried away the wounded.
The compound has now
been secured and is in the hands of AU troops, the official Twitter
account of the African Union Mission to Somalia said. Shirdon also
assured city residents that the government remains in control of
security and underscored the swift action by the forces against the
attackers.
"All our thoughts and
prayers are with our U.N. colleagues today," Shirdon said. "Al-Shabaab
will not derail the peace process. They will not stop our recovery.
Violence will not win."
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- COPY http://edition.cnn.com
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