Update: Six dead in attack on Somali palace

Somali security forces have shot dead three extremists and foiled an attempted al-Shabab attack on the presidential palace in the capital, a police officer says.

Six people were dead in all including a suicide car bomber, Captain Mohamed Hussein told The Associated Press, saying the situation had calmed and security in the area was being tightened after Saturday’s attack.

The midday attack began when a car bomb detonated near a checkpoint close to the presidential palace after security forces engaged with gunmen. A second car bomb exploded in the same area shortly afterward, Hussein said.

The attack came a week after a similar one on the interior ministry compound in Mogadishu killed at least nine people.

The Somalia-based al-Shabab, an arm of al-Qaeda, often targets high-profile places in the capital. It claimed responsibility for Saturday’s attack, saying its fighters were conducting a “major operation” around the palace and nearby SYL Hotel.

Source:AP