Mogadishu, Somalia (BBN)-Explosions and gunfire have been heard in the Somali capital Mogadishu as the parliament came under attack while MPs were meeting.

The cause of the blasts was not immediately clear, reports BBC.

Somalia's first parliament of its own since the collapse of government in 1992 was sworn in two years ago.

The fragile Somali government has been waging a war on insurgents of the al-Shabab Islamist movement, who were pushed out of Mogadishu in 2011.

The parliament in Mogadishu – which operated as a transitional assembly from 2004 to 2012 – has been attacked several times, including in 2009 and 2010.

Last month, a Somali parliamentarian was blown up and another shot dead in separate attacks.

Some 22,000 African Union troops are helping the government battle al-Shabab.

Although it has lost control of most towns and cities, al-Shabab still dominates in many rural areas.

Al-Shabab, whose name means "The Youth" in Arabic, advocates the strict Saudi-inspired Wahhabi version of Islam.

BBN/AS-24May14-3:10pm (BST)