Al-Shabaab kills 8 policemen in Mogadishu

Al-Shabaab militants on Saturday raided a police station, killing eight police officers in the a town on the outskirts of Mogadishu, police authorities said.

Local police officer Mohamed Ali in Afgoye town told Xinhua the gunmen stormed the station and engaged with police in gunfire, killing eight officers and injuring three civilians who were nearby.

"Our officers retaliated, but we lost eight of them after a sustained gunfire in the early hours of Saturday," Ali said.

Residents said they heard heavy fighting in the area which lasted for close to three hours.

"We could not leave our homes because the fighting was very fierce and we could hear heavy gunfire from the police station," said one of the residents.

Al-Qaida affiliated militant group Al-Shabaab later claimed responsibility, noting that they had killed ten policemen and captured four cars. There was no comment from the government in Mogadishu by far.