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Somali police station attacked near Afgoye Somali militants attack key town of Afgoye near capital
(about 3 hours later)
At least six people have been killed and several injured after a suicide attacker drove a bomb-laden car into a police station just outside the Somali capital, residents have told the BBC. There has been fierce fighting near the Somali capital Mogadishu after fighters from the Islamist militant group al-Shabab overran a key town.
"Many militants have entered the town" of Afgoye, 30km (18 miles) north-west of Mogadishu, a police major said. Reports say at least four policemen and several civilians were killed when militants stormed Afgoye on Tuesday.
Islamist militant group al-Shabab says it is now in control of the town but this has not been verified. A spokesman with the African Union mission to Somalia later said the gunmen had been forced out, but this was not confirmed.
The group has been forced out of most towns but remains in many rural areas. Witnesses said gunshots could still be heard into the night.
The African Union Mission in Somalia (Amisom) is supporting the Somali government in its fight against al-Shabab.
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Police major Nur Osman told Reuters news agency that heavy fighting was still ongoing in the town but al-Shabab spokesman Sheikh Abdiasis Abu Musab said that the militants had seized control. Residents said the attack on Afgoye, 30km (18 miles) from Mogadishu, started when militants detonated a car bomb outside a police post, killing four policemen.
A witness told AFP news agency that it was unclear what was going on. "We don't know who is controlling the city so far because heavy exchange of gunfire is going on," he said. People took cover in their homes as fighters appeared in parts of the town and clashed with Somali troops and African Union forces.
Another witness said that the attack came as a surprise, adding that "people are hiding in their houses and those who stayed outside have fled". Police officer Abdukadir Ahmed told AFP news agency that at least 10 people, including civilians, had been killed as well as some of the attackers.
The Ugandan army spokesman in Somalia, Captain Jimmy Omara, told the BBC that Somali and African Union forces had been sent to the town. Afgoye is considered a strategic town as it sits on one of only two roads into the capital.
African Union troops captured Afgoye town in 2012. As the fighting raged, both sides said they had control of the town.
Amisom troops captured Afgoye town in 2012.