Tuesday, July 08, 2014

Gunmen in Major Attack Somalia's Presidential Palace
Map of Somalia where fighting is ongoing for control of the
country.
by Naharnet Newsdesk 08 July 2014, 19:43

Somalia's Islamist Shebab rebels launched a major bomb attack and armed assault against the country's presidential palace late Tuesday, penetrating the heavily-fortified complex and fighting a major gunbattle with security guards.

Security sources said Somalia's internationally-backed President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud, was unharmed and safe with guards from the African Union's 22,000-strong AMISOM force.

"There was an attack on the presidential palace, with gunmen attacking a checkpoint at the rear of the compound," police officer Ali Hussein told Agence France Presse. "There was a major explosion and security forces are fighting them."

A Shebab spokesman said the al-Qaida-linked group was behind the attack, and claim their commandos had managed to seize the president's office inside the presidential compound known as the Villa Somalia.

"Our commandos are inside the so-called presidential office," Shebab spokesman Abdulaziz Abu Musab told AFP. "We are in control of the headquarters of the apostate regime."

"The enemy suffered high casualties during the operation, which is ongoing. The assault is a victory for us since the foreign installed government said that security was beefed up," he added.

Witnesses said there was heavy gunfire and several blasts believed to be from grenades.

"Bullets are flying around coming from the palace," said Halimo Nure, who lives close to the compound, one of the most heavily defended areas of the city. "There is shooting and gunfire, there are also explosions like they are using grenades."

The attack appeared to be a repeat of a Shebab assault against the presidential palace in February. In May the Islamist insurgents also launched a similar attack against the national parliament.

Source: Agence France Presse


8 July 2014 Last updated at 13:32 ET

Somali president's palace under attack from al-Shabab

Islamist al-Shabab militants have attacked the presidential palace in the Somali capital, Mogadishu, and are inside the heavily fortified compound.

An al-Shabab spokesman said fighting was ongoing. Gunfire and explosions can be heard.

The BBC's Mohammed Moalimu in Mogadishu says President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud is not at the palace.

The al-Qaeda-aligned al-Shabab group lost control of Mogadishu in 2011, but often carries out attacks in the city.

The group has vowed to step up attacks during the Islamic holy month of Ramadan.

On Saturday, a suicide car bomb exploded near the parliament, killing at least four people.

Our reporter says President Mohamud was attending a function at the residence of the UN special envoy to Somalia, near the airport.

A large contingent of the Somali military police accompanied him, leaving the presidential palace, known as Villa Somalia, mainly under the protection of African Union soldiers, he says.

The presidential palace is the seat of government and many top government officials live and work there.

It is not clear if the prime minister and speaker of parliament are in the compound.

"We have entered the so-called presidential palace. We have now captured some parts of the palace and fighting is still going on," al-Shabab spokesman Sheikh Abdiasis Abu Musab told the Reuters news agency.

Our correspondent says the raid is believed to have started with a car bomb at a barrier near the entrance to the compound, after which the militants attacked from two directions.

Al-Shabab militants staged a similar attack on Villa Somalia in February when a car bomb has exploded at the gate of the presidential palace, followed by a fierce gun battle inside.

Despite losing Mogadishu and other key cities over the last three years, al-Shabab still controls many smaller towns and rural areas of the country.

Some 22,000 African Union troops are helping the UN-backed government battle al-Shabab, which wants to create an Islamic state.

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