Al Shabaab attack on Somali ministry in Mogadishu kills at least 15

A general view shows the scene of a suicide explosion after al-Shabaab militia stormed a government building in Mogadishu, Somalia March 23, 2019. REUTERS/Feisal Omar

MOGADISHU (Reuters) - Somalia's al Shabaab stormed a government building on Saturday, detonating a suicide car bomb in the heart of the capital Mogadishu with at least 15 people, including an assistant minister, killed during the ensuing gun battle.

In the latest bombing claimed by al Shabaab, an Islamist group which is fighting to establish its own rule in Somalia, based on a strict interpretation of sharia law, a huge explosion shook central Mogadishu and a large plume of smoke rose above a building housing Somalia's ministries of labour and works.