Gunfire and explosions were heard in Mogadishu when Al-Shabaab, a Somali terrorist group with ties to Al-Qaeda, stormed police stations and security checkpoints on Wednesday. 

The attacks left two women killed and 16 people injured, including 3 soldiers. 

The group attacks the government regularly, killing 2 policemen two weeks ago.

Minister of Internal Security Abdullahi Nor Tweeted that “Our security defeated the enemy.”

At 1:00am The terrorist attacked the suburbs of Mogadishu and targeted our police stations & check points, & i am informing to the Public that our security forces defeated the enemy & the Police Force will share further information to the public when it is possible and available

— Hon. Abdullahi M Nor (@AbdullahiMNOR) February 16, 2022

Local media reported that Al-Shabaab launched an attack after 1 AM, using a car bomb that was detonated by the police station in Kahda neighborhood in Mogadishu. This was followed by clashes between the gunmen and the security forces, who were able to repel the attack after the arrival of reinforcements.

And about half an hour after the first attack, another attack was launched by the militants on the Dar Al-Salaam area, targeting the deputy director of the Halawa neighborhood in the capital, where the explosions that occurred last night were heard throughout the capital.

The gunmen also attacked centers in areas on the outskirts of Mogadishu, and gunfire and artillery bombardment were heard, but the losses resulting from the attacks have not yet been revealed.

The attacks come as Somalia struggles to recover from a political crisis brought on by long-running conflicts over long-overdue elections.

The President and Prime Minister have been at odds over the process, which has been plagued by violence and is more than a year late.

Last week, Somali leaders announced they reached an agreement to complete parliamentary elections by February 25 following repeated delays that put stability on the line in the already troubled country.

For years, Somalia has been witnessing a bloody conflict between government forces and the militants of the Al-Shabab movement, which seeks to control the country in the Horn of Africa and rule it.