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| Somalia militants attack parliament in Mogadishu | Somalia militants attack parliament in Mogadishu |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| Explosions and gunfire have been heard in the Somali capital Mogadishu as the parliament came under attack while MPs were meeting. | Explosions and gunfire have been heard in the Somali capital Mogadishu as the parliament came under attack while MPs were meeting. |
| The cause of the blasts was not immediately clear. | The cause of the blasts was not immediately clear. |
| Somalia's first parliament of its own since the collapse of government in 1992 was sworn in two years ago. | Somalia's first parliament of its own since the collapse of government in 1992 was sworn in two years ago. |
| The fragile Somali government has been waging a war on insurgents of the al-Shabab Islamist movement, who were pushed out of Mogadishu in 2011. | |
| The parliament in Mogadishu - which operated as a transitional assembly from 2004 to 2012 - has been attacked several times, including in 2009 and 2010. | The parliament in Mogadishu - which operated as a transitional assembly from 2004 to 2012 - has been attacked several times, including in 2009 and 2010. |
| It is not clear whether gunmen managed to get inside the building on Saturday. | |
| Last month, a Somali parliamentarian was blown up and another shot dead in separate attacks. | Last month, a Somali parliamentarian was blown up and another shot dead in separate attacks. |
| In February, al-Shabab militants attacked the presidential palace in Mogadishu, leaving at least 16 people dead. | |
| Some 22,000 African Union troops are helping the government battle al-Shabab. | |
| Although it has lost control of most towns and cities, al-Shabab still dominates in many rural areas. | |
| Al-Shabab, whose name means "The Youth" in Arabic, advocates the strict Saudi-inspired Wahhabi version of Islam. |