Smoke Rises From Somalia's Parliament Building After Attack

Smoke and flames rose from Somalia's parliament building in Mogadishu after militants launched an attack Saturday. People could be seen lying on the ground, as ambulances pulled up.

People took cover as security forces moved in, exchanging gunfire with the attackers. Some members of parliament were evacuated from the building.

A lawmaker, Mohamed Omar, inside the parliament building said that Al-Shabaab militants wearing military uniforms and suicide belts had entered the compound.

Security forces killed at least three of the militants, Omar said.

Al-Shabaab is the al Qaeda affiliated terror network in Somalia.

The group is seeking to turn Somalia into a fundamentalist Islamic state, though it has carried out attacks in other African countries as well. A prime example of the latter was last September's attack on Nairobi's Westgate Mall, which ended with at least 67 dead.

CNN