Latest news Six dead in attempted prison break in Somalia

At least six people have died in an attempted escape from the central prison in the Somali capital Mogadishu. According to a police spokesman, a group of suspected Islamists attempted to break out on Saturday. "Four prisoners were shot dead when they opened fire on security officers," police spokesman Mohamed Dahir told the German Press Agency. Two security officers also died in the shootout. At least five people were injured.

The captured Islamists were armed with hand grenades and Kalashnikov assault rifles when they attempted to break out. It is not yet known how the prisoners obtained their weapons. The prisoners were fighters of the Islamist terrorist militia Al-Shabaab who were sentenced to death, it was further reported. The men had managed to occupy part of the building.

Shots could still be heard around the prison on Saturday morning.

The Al-Shabaab militia has been carrying out attacks in the country on the Horn of Africa, which has a population of 18 million, for years. Al-Shabaab terror attacks also occur repeatedly in neighboring countries, such as an attack on a Kenyan police patrol near the Somali border a few days ago.