News / Somalia

Somalia mortar attack injures six, kills child

Monday, 01 February 2016 3:42 PM [ Last Update: Monday, 01 February 2016 5:43 PM ]

File photo of Somali soldiers standing guard at the main gate of the presidential palace in Mogadishu on July, 9, 2014. (http://www.somaliswiss.com)

Six people have been injured and a child has been killed in a mortar attack on the presidential palace in Somalia's capital, Mogadishu, police say.

The incident occurred on Monday after mortar shells targeted Villa Somalia, the main government complex which includes Somalia’s presidential palace.

"There was a mortar attack near the presidential palace, but several of the rounds struck civilian neighborhoods," Somali police officer Abdirahman Siyad said. "An innocent child died and a number of others were wounded."

Witnesses said they heard as many as five explosions.

"I saw six wounded civilians, some of them seriously," said Abdi Moalim Hussein, one of the neighbors.

No group or individual has so far claimed responsibility for the attack but such acts of violence are usually carried out by the al-Qaeda-linked al-Shabab militant group.

Since 2006, the al-Shabaab Takifiri militants have been fighting to overthrow Somalia’s government.

The east African country has been the scene of deadly clashes between government forces and al-Shabab militants who have frequently staged attacks against government officials and civilians.

The African Union Mission to Somalia, known as AMISOM , has pushed the Takfiri terrorists out of the capital city Mogadishu and other major cities.

AMISOM has over 20,000 military personnel and is largely made up of troops from Ethiopia, Uganda, Burundi, Djibouti, Sierra Leone and Kenya.

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