SOMALIA- A suicide attack was launched at the African Union base in the town of Beledweyne, Somalia, with over 19 people killed.

It was gathered that as a car rammed into the gates, it exploded and gunmen stormed the place shooting sporadically.

The attack followed last month’s suicide attack at a popular café in Beledweyne which killed over 16 people.

Meanwhile, the al-Qaeda-linked group, al-Shabab has claimed to be responsible for the attack.

The group have been driven out of Somalia's major towns by a UN-mandated African Union force (Amisom) of some 18,000 soldiers, but still control large parts of southern Somalia.