19 said killed after militant bomb and gunfire attack in central Somali town

MOGADISHU, Somalia – Somalian officials say that 19 people were killed when about 10 militants with assault rifles and rocket-propelled grenades attacked a police station run by the African Union force in Somalia.

Col. Osman Dubbad, the commander of Djiboutian troops in the city of Beledweyne, near the border with Ethiopia, said pro-government forces killed 10 attackers, including two suicide bombers. Col. Ismael Ali, a police officer in Beledweyne, said five soldiers and four civilians were killed by a car bomb blast.

The officials said that gunmen forced their way inside the police station, where an hour-long gunbattle ensued.

According to a pro-militants website, the al-Qaida-linked group al-Shabab claimed responsibility for the attack.