24 March

A militant group has attacked a government building in Somalia, killing at least 10 people including the country's deputy labor minister. An al Qaeda-affiliated group, Al-Shabab, claimed responsibility.

Police say that the group detonated a suicide car bomb and stormed the building in the capital, Mogadishu on Saturday. They say four attackers and one suicide bomber also died.

Witnesses say they heard a huge explosion in the capital followed by gun shots. Al-Shabab has carried out a number of attacks in Somalia and neighboring Kenya. The group wants to establish a state based on its extreme Islamist ideology.

US forces have conducted air-strikes against the group in coordination with Somalia's military.—NHK