Six killed in Mogadishu prison break shootout [Video]

Five inmates said to be from Somalia’s Al-Shabaab jihadist group and a guard were killed in a blaze of gunfire during an attempted breakout from the main prison in the capital Mogadishu on Saturday, a prison official and witnesses said.

Jailed members of the Al-Qaeda-linked group, which has been waging a bloody insurgency for years, managed to obtain weapons and launched what appeared to be a well-planned bid to escape the prison, security sources said.

Witnesses living near the prison compound reported hearing the sound of grenade explosions and machinegun fire.

“All five inmate assailants who tried violently to escape the prison were killed and neutralised after engaging in an armed confrontation with the prison guard force,” Mohamed Hassan, an officer with the Somali Custodial Corps, told AFP.

“A member of the prison guard force died and three others were wounded in the incident,” he added.

“The security agencies are …