Mogadishu, 25 Dec - (ANA) - Gunmen attacked the African Union's main base in the capital, Mogadishu, leading to an exchange of gunfire between armed men and soldiers that left at least five fighters dead, an official with the mission in Somalia said. Somali armed group al-Shabab claimed responsibility for Thursday’s attack and said they were targeting a Christmas party at the base, which also houses several embassies and UN offices. At least eight men entered the AU base near the Mogadishu airport, AU Mission in Somalia spokesman Col. Ali Aden Houmed told the Associated Press news agency. He said the base was now calm. "Our forces shot dead three of them, two detonated themselves near a fuel depot, and the three are believed to have escaped," he said. The AU  force said all of its personnel as well as UN staff were unharmed in the attack, disputing claims from a Shabab spokesman. "Our fighters are inside the headquarters of the foreign troops in Somalia," Shabab spokesman Abdulaziz Abu Musab told the AFP news agency, also claiming several African Union soldiers had been killed. Somali police official Abdi Ahmed earlier spoke of strong explosions at the rear entrance to the base and exchanges of gunfire. A Western security source told AFP there had been between 15 and 20 attackers around the base. The AU force headquarters is a fortified structure located on the grounds of the Mogadishu airport, which has also been placed under high security and is home to several embassies. There are currently some 22,000 AU troops as part of the force, known as AMISOM, deployed since 2007. AU peacekeepers from Uganda, Burundi, Kenya, Ethiopia and Djibouti have been battling al-Shabab for years and have forced the group out of Mogadishu. However, the fighters continue to carry out deadly attacks in and around Mogadishu. (ANA)

FA/ANA/25 December 2014--------