Mogadishu , Somalia ( CNN ) Islamic militants with the extremist group Al-Shabaab mounted a bloody attack Thursday on government administration offices in Baidoa , Somalia . Initial reports to police indicate that nine people , including four attackers , were killed after gunmen in military uniforms attacked the house of the former Somali parliament speaker and current president of the newly established southwest regional administration , said Col. Mahad Abdi , a Somali police officer . The attack began when a car bomb detonated at the gate of the state palace in Baidoa city , some 250 kilometers ( 155 miles ) northwest of the capital , Mogadishu . Heavy gunfire broke out between Somali troops backed by Ethiopian forces inside the house of the regional president , Sharif Hassan Sheikh Aden . Explosions and gunfire were still going on over an hour after the initial assault , Abdi said . Al-Shabaab claimed responsibility for the attack . A broadcast by the group 's official radio station , Andulus , said that Al-Shabaab gunmen had entered the regional president 's house and killed seven Ethiopian soldiers . The African Union 's special representative for Somalia , Ambassador Maman S. Sidikou , condemned the attack , saying it had targeted troops who have worked to restore peace to Baidoa . `` I am deeply saddened by news of the attack in Baidoa this morning , '' he said in a statement released by AMISOM , the African Union mission to Somalia . Sidikou said he had also received reports of an attempted attack at a Mogadishu hotel Wednesday night . `` These are desperate attempts by Al-Shabaab to seek relevance , following the massive defeats they continue to suffer from the Somali National Army working together with AMISOM troops , '' he said . Al-Shabaab started with a goal of waging a war against the Somali government in an effort to implement a stricter form of Islamic law , or Sharia . It has since shifted focus to terrorist attacks in Somalia and beyond , even calling , in a video released last month , for attacks on shopping malls in Canada , the United Kingdom and the United States . U.S. authorities downplayed the threat . How big a threat is Al-Shabaab to the United States ? CNN 's Laura Smith-Spark and Nana Karikari-apau contributed to this report .
The African Union 's Baidoa representative condemns the attack , says it targeted troops . Al-Shabaab says its militants attacked the state palace in the city of Somalia . Police say initial reports indicate nine people are dead , including four attackers .