All seven attackers who stormed a major prison complex in Mogadishu have been killed following an hours-long gun battle in the largest such assault on the capital in recent months, the Somali government has said.

The al-Shabab group attacked Godka Jilow, an underground prison complex known to hold fighters from the armed group, on Saturday.

The government said the assault began with a car bomb blast, followed by the exchange of heavy gunfire and explosions which rang out across the city, with three members of the security forces killed during efforts to quell the attack.

In a statement, al-Shabab, an al-Qaeda affiliate, said it launched the attack to free some of its members from the prison.

A Somali security official at the prison told the Reuters news agency they heard a “huge blast

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