Somalia: 11 killed as army repels attack on prison

Somalia's government forces regained control of a high security prison in the capital that was attacked Sunday by seven heavily armed suspected Islamic militants who attempted to free other extremists held there, officials said. All the attackers, three government soldiers and at least one civilian were killed, said Mohamed Yusuf, a spokesman for Somalia's National Security Ministry. Mogadishu's Godka Jilacow prison, the scene of the Sunday morning attack, is a key interrogation center for Somalia's intelligence agency and many suspected militants are believed to be held in underground cells there. Somali police Capt. Mohamed Hussein said the attackers were ‘trying to free terrorists held in the prison.’ The Somali rebel group al-Shabab, which is linked to al-Qaida, claimed responsibility for the attack that shattered a period of calm in Mogadishu, which is stabilizing after nearly 20 years of chaotic violence. The attack started when a suicide car bomber detonated an explosives-laden vehicle at the gate of the prison, followed by gunmen who fought their way into the prison. Guards fought the attackers who threw grenades to penetrate the prison's defenses, police said, according to AP.