Militants staged a deadly assault on a United Nations compound on Wednesday, the latest in a series of attacks that have chipped away at the security gains the Somali capital has experienced in recent years. Hit the jump for more details.

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The Shabab, the fearsome Islamist militant group that once controlled much of the capital, claimed responsibility for the attack, which government officials said left at least 15 people dead, including 7 attackers.

The assault began when Shabab militants blew up a pickup truck rigged with explosives outside the compound, witnesses said. Militants armed with rifles and wearing explosive vests then stormed it on foot. Somali and African Union troops responded, and the ensuing firefight lasted more than an hour, punctuated by a series of blasts.

Somalia’s minister of interior and national security, Abdikarim Hussein Guled, told reporters that the dead included four foreigners, four Somalis working for the United Nations as security personnel, as well as the attackers. In a statement, Somalia’s prime minister, Abdi Farah Shirdon Saaid, condemned “the senseless and despicable attack on innocent U.N. civilians.”

Militants “are now in complete control of the entire compound and the battle is still ongoing,” the Shabab said on Twitter during the attack. “Inside the compound are several clueless foreigners who were lulled into a false sense of security by a strong disinformation campaign!” The Shabab, who have sworn allegiance to Al Qaeda, said that the group’s Martyrdom Brigade had carried out the attack.

The United Nations compound sits on a busy stretch of road near the airport. An ambulance worker, Abdirisak Moumin, said he had collected 13 wounded civilians, six of whom died from their injuries.

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via NYTimes