13 civilians killed in terrorist attack targets Somali presidential palace

SANAA, Dec. 31 (YPA) – At least 13 people were killed and 27 others injured when two car bombs exploded near the presidential palace in the Somali capital of Mogadishu on Sunday

According to Reuters,  al-Shabaab, linked to al-Qaeda terrorist organization, has claimed responsibility for the bombings through its radio, saying that the second explosion was caused by a car bomb.

Maj. Mohammed Hussein of Mogadishu police said that military personals and civilians were killed in the bombings.

The Journalist, Abdul Aziz Ibrahim, who works for Universal TV station, said that his colleague, a driver at the station and two of her bodyguards were among the dead.

Earlier in the day, Somali police reported that the first attack killed five people, most of them soldiers.

One security officer explained that the car exploded at a checkpoint 400 meters away from the presidential palace, while another Reuters witness said that he saw at least two bodies at the scene of the second bombing.

The extremist al-Shabaab movement has been repeatedly attacked in the Somali capital, with the aim of forcing the current government to step down and replace it with a government that applies Islamic law.

E.M