SOMALIA: Al-Shabab Launches Deadly Attack On Somali Ministry

Somalia's Higher Education Ministry in the centre of the capital Mogadishu was hit by a large explosion followed by heavy gunfire.

Al Jazeera's Mustaf Abdi Nor Shafana, reporting from the scene, said he counted the bodies of eight civilians and two soldiers after Tuesday's assault.

Reuters news agency, quoting Sheikh Abdiasis Abu Musab, an al-Shabab spokesperson, said that the armed group was behind the attack.

Sources told Al Jazeera that African Union forces had quickly reached the scene, and that three gunmen had been holed up inside the building during the attack.

AU troops ended the afternoon attack which began after gunmen used a car bomb to gain access to the government building.

The ministry is located in a busy street adjacent to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Al-Shabab continues to wage a deadly campaign against Somalia's government and remains a threat in Somalia and the East African region.

The group has carried out many attacks in Somalia and in neighbouring countries, including Kenya, whose armies are part of the African Union peacekeeping mission known as AMISOM.

Al-Shabab controlled much of Mogadishu during the years 2007 to 2011, but was pushed out of Somalia's capital and other major cities by the AU forces.a