Bomb attack near presidential palace

SOMALIA: At least four people were killed yesterday when a car bomb exploded at a checkpoint less than a kilometre away from the presidential compound in Somalia’s capital, Mogadishu, police said.

Security officials at the scene said the checkpoint was rammed by a car bomb driven by a suicide attacker, causing a blast outside the national theatre.

‘‘At least four people, including government soldiers and civilians, died in the blast. Several others were injured,’’ said Mohamed Hussein, a police officer.

‘‘Casualty numbers may rise. There were pedestrians along the street at the time of the explosion,’’ he added.

The theatre is about 300 metres away from the heavily fortified compound known as Villa Somalia, which also houses other government agencies.

It was not immediately clear who was responsible for the explosion. In the past, the al Qaeda-linked jihadist group al Shabaab has taken responsibility for blasts and gun attacks in the capital.

Al Shabaab has been able to carry out deadly bombings despite losing most of its territory to African Union peacekeepers supporting the Somali government. Its insurgency aims to drive out the peacekeepers, topple Somalia’s Western-backed government and impose its strict version of Islam on the Horn of Africa state.

Somalia swore in a new leader last month. Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed has promised al Shabaab’s fighters ‘‘a good life’’ if they surrender. - Reuters