Car bomb kills 2 near Mogadishu’s presidential palace

Mogadishu, Feb 13 (efe-epa).- At least two people were killed and seven injured on Saturday when a member of Somali militant group Al Shabab detonated a car bomb near the presidential palace in Mogadishu, witnesses told Efe.

The assailant sought to break through a security checkpoint toward the entrance of the palace but guards opened fire at the vehicle.

Passerby fled the scene when gunfire erupted, minimizing the death toll when the bomb was detonated, Nur Adam Ali, an eye-witness, told Efe.

Al Shabab, which has increased its terror activity ahead of elections in Somalia, claimed responsibility for the bombing.

Somalia has been in a state of war and civil chaos since 1991 following the downfall of dictator Siad Barre, which left the country with a power vacuum. EFE-EPA

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