One child killed, 6 others wounded in mortar attack in Somalia

One child was killed and six others wounded in Mogadishu on Monday after mortar shells were targeted at a house in Somalia.

15. CASUALTY REPORTS: SOMALIA, EXECUTIVE ATTACKS, CHILD DEATHS: Child killed in mortar attack on Somalia presidency https://t.co/U5oky7nCp6

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According to the police, the house is part of the main government complex which includes the presidential palace.

Witnesses said they heard as many as five explosions.

Abdi Moalim Hussein, who lives nearby, said some of the shells smashed into houses. “I saw six wounded civilians, some of them seriously,” he said.

So far, no group has claimed responsibility for the shelling but Al-Qaeda affiliated Al Shabaab extremists have carried out a raft of similar attacks in the past.

The Al Shabaab are fighting to overthrow the internationally-backed government in Mogadishu, which is protected by 22,000 African Union troops.

The insurgents have lost ground since being routed from Mogadishu in 2011 but continue to stage regular shooting and suicide attacks.

In January, the Al Shabaab militia stormed and reportedly killed more than 100 soilders at a Kenyan army base under the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) at El-Adde in southwest Somalia.