Godka Jilicow: Al-Shabab militants dress as soldiers to storm Somali jail

An explosion and gunfire were heard coming from the jail, located near the presidential palace in Mogadishu.

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A huge explosion and gunfire were heard coming from Godka Jilicow - a detention centre that holds al-Shabab militants - in Mogadishu on Saturday evening.

In a statement, al-Shabab said it released "all the Muslim prisoners" from the facility and inflicted heavy casualties on those guarding the centre.

The militants disguised themselves as soldiers in order to enter the prison, government-run news agency Sonna Live reported on Sunday.

The government did not indicate how many of its security forces were killed during the incident, but gave its condolences to the families of "the fallen heroes".