Al-Shabaab attacks Somali Parliament, kills 10

Somalia Al Shabaab militants stormed Parliament on Saturday, killing at least 10 security officers in a bomb and gun attack that the United States condemned as a "heinous act of terrorism."

The attack began with a car bomb at a gate to the heavily fortified Parliament compound, followed by a suicide attack and then a gunfight that continued for hours. Al Shabaab is an al-Qaeda-linked Group that killed 67 people at a shopping mall last year.

"Ten government troops died and 14 others were injured in the attack today. Four legislators were also injured. Seven of the fighters who attacked the House were also killed when you see their bodies, "said Kasim Ahmed Roble, a spokesman for the police, reporters on the scene.

Roble made no mention of any civilian casualties.

A spokesman for al-Shabaab, Sheikh Mohamed Abu Musab, said the Group fighters had killed 30 people. "We killed 30 of the AU (African Union) and of the different forces of the so-called Somali Government," he said.

The al-Shabaab estimate of the death toll was not independently verifiable.

Reuters witnesses saw four bodies at the scene and a soldier of a roof fall after shot. Reuters television pictures showed a large pool of blood near a blast site, and a man with his shirt soaked in blood running away from the scene.

The fighting continued for hours after the first explosion, with gunfire and smaller explosions around Parliament is heard.

"We stand behind the suicide bombing, explosions and fighting in the so-called Somali Parliament House, and still heavy fighting is going on inside," said the al-Shabaab spokesman said.

The African Union Mission in Somalia said in a statement that the lawmakers who in Parliament for the attack were safely evacuated.

The attack on Parliament, a building about 300 metres (328 yards) of the president Palace which is guarded by peacekeepers of the African Union and Somali forces, revealed that the al-Qaeda-linked Group continued state of hitting the center of Mogadishu despite pushed from the capital two years ago.

"The terrorists have once again shown that they are against all Somalis, by killing our innocent brothers and sisters. This cowardly, despicable actions are not a demonstration of the true Islamic faith, "said premier Abdiweli Sheikh Ahmed.

The u.s. State Department strongly condemned the attack, condolences "to those affected by this terrible act of terrorism."

"We remain firmly with the Transitional Federal Government of Somalia and the many international partners work to support its efforts to eradicating the threat posed by al-Shabaab," State Department Deputy spokeswoman Marie Harf said in a statement. "Cowardly acts such as this will not shake our determination."

Nicholas Kay, the Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General for Somalia, said: "the Federal Parliament represents the people of Somalia and their hopes and aspirations for a peaceful and stable future. Today's attack is an attack against the people of Somalia for which there can be no justification. "