Several Killed in Mortar Shells Near Somalia President's Residence

Several people were killed and a number of others wounded in mortar shells that struck targets near Somalia president's residence in the capital Mogadishu on Wednesday, local officials have confirmed.

At least five mortar bombs struck ex-German embassy and ministry of health headquarters, and the notorious Jili’ow prison where critics of the outgoing president and terror suspects are held and often tortured.

The Al-Qaeda-affiliated militant group Al-Shabaab has said it carried out the attack, claiming to have hit high-profile targets, including offices where senior officials were staying at the time of the assault.

One of the shells which missed its target reportedly fell inside a residential area in Wardhigley district and killed two people with several others wounded.

Somalia’s federal government, which has been facing pressure to rescind a term extension for president Farmajo, has not immediately commented on the mortar attack, the latest in a spate of assaults by the Islamist militants since a parliament vote last week to extend president’s term by two years deepened political crisis in the country.