Breaking News : Somali education ministry under attack in Mogadishu

At least seven people have been killed in an attack on the higher education ministry in a busy area of Somalia’s capital, Mogadishu, witnesses say.

The BBC’s Ibrahim Aden says a car loaded with explosives was driven into the wall surrounding the compound and there is an ongoing gun battle.

A police official told the AFP news agency that gunfire was coming from inside the building.
Al-Shabab militants often launch attacks in the city.

Last month, the al-Qaeda-linked insurgents were behind a two-day siege at a hotel in Mogadishu.
Some reports say the latest attack began with two large blasts.

No group has said it carried out the attack, but Somalia’s al-Qaeda-linked al-Shabab rebels have previously used car bombs to initiate attacks on fortified buildings.

The rebels oppose the country’s internationally-backed government and the African Union forces supporting it.