Somalia: Al-Shabaab attack kills two guards at minister's home in Mogadishu

AMISOM AMISOM peacekeepers manning the main gate to Villa Somalia, the official residential palace and principal workplace of the President of Somalia.

MOGADISHU, Somalia - A government minister's house was targeted by suspected Al-Shabaab militants on Sunday evening, in an attack that comes amid increased surveillance in Mogadishu, as the country prepares for the second and final phase of operations against Al-Shabaab.

The mortar attack on Sunday evening, police said, targeted Abdirizak Omar Mohamed, the Minister of Petroleum, whose home is located within the presidential palace in the capital Mogadishu. His two bodyguards died on spot and two others were critically injured, eyewitnesses said.

Mogadishu has been fairly safe in recent weeks but the Al-Shabaab militants usually carry out sporadic retaliatory attacks, mostly targeting members of the public, senior government officials, and members of the Somali National Army and other military affiliates.

Ahmed Fiqi, the interior security, over the weekend said security within the capital had improved while congratulating Banadir Regional Police for working with the military to improve security within the capital. Al-Shabaab usually operates within vast areas across the country but has recently been on the receiving end.

The attack coincided with the Somali government's announcement of a disarmament campaign in Mogadishu, aimed at collecting various types of weapons. The government has also looked for backup from members of Troops Contributing Countries who will be adding reinforcement to the national army.

President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud reached out to Kenya, Ethiopia, and Djibouti for military support with Addis Ababa becoming the first country to dispatch non-ATMIS troops who have already arrived in the country. Kenya and Djibouti also pledged the same support.

Also, the government has invested in tracing Al-Shabaab's revenue sources, key among them various checkpoints in the country. It has emerged that the group's revenue nosedived, but the United States has often maintained that the group is capable of carrying explosive attacks which could be risky to other countries.

GAROWE ONLINE