Al-Shabaab gunmen and a suicide car bomber struck a religious centre in Central Somalia on Monday, killing a cleric and at least 14 of his followers, a police officer said.
The Islamist militant group had accused the cleric of insulting Prophet Mohamed, which he denied.
The group was forced from Mogadishu in 2011 in most towns and cities but it retains a strong presence outside the capital and launches frequent bombings and other attacks in a campaign to topple the federal government.
“The (security) operation is now over. Al-Shabaab killed 15 people including the cleric, his wife, his followers and his guards.
“Three militants who stormed the centre were also shot dead,” Captain Nur Mohamed, a police officer, told Reuters from Galkayo by phone
The group took responsibility for the attack and put the number of dead at 26.
It…
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