Mortar Attack Near Somalia Presidential Palace Wounds At Least Six

MOGADISHU, Somalia - At least six people were wounded Saturday when mortar shells struck residential areas in Mogadishu, close to the presidential palace housing Somalia's top leaders, including the president, prime minister, and house speaker, local officials said.

The shells landed in the Warta Nabada and Bondhere districts, according to Aden Osman, a witness from the nearby Shibis area. He told Garowe Online that a Quran school teacher and an elderly woman were among those seriously injured and were rushed to hospital.

Somali security forces swiftly cordoned off the area, imposed movement restrictions, and opened an investigation into the type of mortar used in the attack, officials said.

No group has yet claimed responsibility for the assault. The al-Qaeda-linked Al-Shabaab militant group, which has waged a 16-year insurgency against the Somali government, has a history of carrying out similar attacks targeting key government sites.

Somalia has been plagued by chronic instability, with Al-Shabaab and Islamic State militants remaining the primary sources of violence in the Horn of Africa nation.

GAROWE ONLINE