Al-Shabab attack African Union base in Somalia

Somali armed group al-Shabab have claimed responsibility for an attack by gunmen on the African Union's main base in Somalia’s capital, Mogadishu on Thursday. The attack led to an exchange of gunfire between armed men and soldiers that left at least five fighters dead, an official with the mission in Somalia said.

Al-Shabab said they were targeting a Christmas party at the base, which also houses embassy and UN offices.

At least eight gunmen entered the AU base near the Mogadishu airport, AU Mission in Somalia spokesman Col. Ali Aden Houmed told the Associated Press news agency, while adding that the base was now calm.

"Our forces shot dead three of them, two detonated themselves near a fuel depot, and the three are believed to have escaped," he said.

The AU force said all of its personnel as well as UN staff were unharmed in the attack, but a Shabab spokesman claims otherwise.

"Our fighters are inside the headquarters of the foreign troops in Somalia," Shabab spokesman Abdulaziz Abu Musab told the AFP news agency, claiming several African Union soldiers had been killed.

The AU force headquarters is a fortified structure located on the grounds of the Mogadishu airport, which has also been placed under high security. AU peacekeepers from Uganda, Burundi, Kenya, Ethiopia and Djibouti have been battling al-Shabab for years and have forced the group out of Mogadishu. However, the militants continue to carry out deadly attacks in and around Mogadishu. Around 22,000 AU troops are currently deployed in Somalia.