Explosions and gunfire were reported near the presidential palace in Somalia on Friday, as militants attempted to storm Villa Somalia, the home of the country’s president and parliament speaker. President Hassan Sheik Mohamud was unharmed, though an undisclosed number of people were wounded, according to Nicholas Kay, a United Nations representative in the country.
“Somali National Security Forces foiled cowardly attack outside Villa #Somalia,” said an African Union mission in Somalia in a tweet.
“Terrorists tried to attack the presidential palace and the security forces foiled the attack,” Abdikarim Hussein Guled, minister of the interior, told state media, according to the New York Times. A car bomb was set off before militants tried to shoot their way into the compound, the Associated Press reports. Several civilians were wounded while attending prayer in nearby mosques. The militant group Shabab has reportedly claimed responsibility for the attack.
[NYT]