Two suicide car bombings have killed 18 and lefts dozens more injured in an attack on the Somali capital of Mogadishu.
One explosion went off near the presidential palace, with the other going off near the national intelligence agency.
In the resulting firefight that broke out security forces managed to shoot dead five assailants.
“So far we carried 18 dead people and 20 others injured from the blasts tonight,” director of Amin Ambulances, Abdikadir Abdirahman told Reuters News Agency.
According to police the first car bomb was driven through a checkpoint the militants breached to get close to the presidential palace, while the second car bomb was parked in front of a hotel.
“The militants got off when they neared the palace, the suicide car bomb exploded outside the palace where there were many military soldiers who guarded the street adjacent to the palace,” a police spokesperson told Reuters News Agency.
Al Shabab have claimed responsibility for this attack, claiming to have killed 15 soldiers in the attack, though this has not been confirmed.
Al Shabaab have previously claimed responsibility for a number of attacks as part of a campaign to overthrow the Somali government and impose a harsh interpretation of Islamic law.
