MOGADISHU, Somalia – A major terror attack struck Somalia’s capital on Saturday after al-Shabaab militants stormed a high-security intelligence prison in central Mogadishu, sparking hours of gunfire and chaos in one of the city’s most fortified areas.
Residents reported hearing heavy gunfire and explosions near the Godka Jilaow detention facility — a prison long used by Somalia’s intelligence services to interrogate suspected al-Shabaab members.
According to security officials, the assault began with a powerful car bomb explosion, followed by heavily armed militants attempting to breach the compound. The facility, located in a highly guarded section of Mogadishu, was quickly surrounded by government forces as the siege unfolded.
Witnesses said militants managed to infiltrate the area using a vehicle painted in the colors of Somalia’s National Intelligence and Security Agency (NISA). The attackers were reportedly turned away from one checkpoint but gained access through another before detonating their explosives and opening fire.
Gunfire continued throughout the night as Somali forces engaged the militants. By early Sunday, the government announced that seven al-Shabaab fighters involved in the attack had been killed.
According to the Somali Ministry of Security, security forces successfully neutralized seven attackers involved in the assault and have issued new directives to strengthen vehicle screening and checkpoint control measures across the capital. Officials also confirmed that at least five soldiers were killed during the operation, which concluded around midnight.
The assault coincided with major developments in the capital. Earlier Saturday, President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud opened the Somalia–U.S. Presidential Trade Summit in Mogadishu — a high-profile event aimed at strengthening economic ties with Washington. The attack also came just hours after Mogadishu reopened several key roads that had been closed for years due to security concerns.
In a separate operation, the Somali government reported a series of U.S.-backed airstrikes within the last 24 hours targeting al-Shabaab positions in the Lower and Middle Juba regions.
The strikes hit areas including Jilib, Mubarak, Ugunji, and Kunyo Barrow, killing several militants — among them Mohamed Osman Mohamed Tuutah, the group’s deputy commander of its notorious Amniyat intelligence wing, officials said.
However, the latest attack, according to observers, underscores al-Shabaab’s continued ability to stage complex attacks in the heart of the capital, despite intensified military operations and international support for Somalia’s counterterrorism efforts.
