Mortars land at Somalia's presidential palace, no casualties

Mogadishu, Feb 26: At least seven mortars landed inside Somalia's presidential palace in Mogadishu Thursday when the prime minister and his cabinet were holding a meeting, police said.

Police said there was no harm caused, and they were still investigating the matter.

Police spokesman Qasim Ahmed Roble told Xinhua news agency that the mortars did not have the capability to cause any damage.

"Our initial assessment of the remnants of the mortar shows that it's fake, but may have been used to cause a scare," he said.

Residents around the heavily guarded presidential palace, commonly referred to as Villa Somalia, said the sighting of the mortars was scary and they ran away from the areas.

"We took from where we were when the first mortar landed inside the compound of the palace," said Abdi Haji, a trader near Villa Somalia.

Somali militant group Al Shabaab later claimed responsibility for the attack.

IANS