The first took place outside the presidential palace late on Friday. The second hit a nearby hotel. Dozens of people were wounded.

The Islamist militant group al-Shabab, which has been trying to oust Somalia’s government, says it was behind both.

A gun battle followed the attack near the presidential palace in which five militants were killed, officials say.

Friday’s bombings are the latest in a series of attacks attributed to al-Shabab, which once controlled Mogadishu before being forced out by African Union troops in 2011.

Last October, more than 500 people were killed by a truck bomb in the city. Officials blamed al-Shabab but the group never said it was behind that attack.

The latest incident began when a vehicle failed to stop at a checkpoint outside the presidential palace before being blown up, state media say. This was followed by an exchange of fire between militants and security forces.

Then a parked car exploded near the hotel. However, al-Shabab said it had targeted security forces.

The group said five of its fighters, including the two drivers, had been “martyred” and 35 soldiers were killed in the attacks.

A police spokesman told Reuters news agency: “There were many military soldiers who guarded the street adjacent to the palace.”

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Source: BBC

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Its fighters killed 61 government troops and seized 16 vehicles in the dawn raid, the group said.

A Puntland government minister has denied the high death toll, but did not give separate casualty figures.

The al-Qaeda-linked group has carried out several big attacks on military bases in Somalia.

In January, it said it had killed 50 Kenyan soldiers in an assault on their base in Kolbiyow town in the south of the country.

Kenyan troops are part of an 18,000-strong African Union (AU) force helping the UN-backed government tackle al-Shabab in Somalia.

In the the latest attack, the militants withdrew after more than three hours of fighting with government forces, residents told the BBC.

The attack took place on the base near the remote Galgala Mountains, about 70km (43 miles) from the port city of Bosaso.

Confirming the attack, Puntland Security Minister Abdiaziz Hirsi said that an investigation was under way and details would be given later.

The Galgala Mountains are a stronghold of al-Shabab, but a faction of militants broke away in 2015 to affiliate themselves with the Islamic State group.

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Source: BBC

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Dayow Mohamed Hassan, 44, was buried neck-deep and pelted to death with stones by al-Shabab militants.
He was convicted of being in an adulterous relationship with a woman and impregnating her, despite having two wives, an official said.

Al-Shabab occasionally passes such sentences for sexual offences in areas it controls in Somalia.

In 2014, a teenage boy was stoned to death after being convicted of raping a woman.

In 2008, a young girl was killed in a similar manner after being convicted of adultery.

In the latest case, a woman filed a complaint of rape against Hassan, but the court tried him for adultery as it is easier to prove, says BBC Somali’s Mohamed Mohamed.

Hundreds of people watched him being stoned death in Ramo Adey village in the south-central Bay region, said Moalim Geedow, the al-Shabab governor for the area.

Hassan had committed adultery with a divorcee, and there was “no trace of valid matrimony”, Mr Geedow told Reuters news agency.

Al-Shabab is fighting to overthrow the weak UN-backed government in Somalia and impose its own strict interpretation of Islamic law.

It has lost control of many towns and cities to a 22,000-strong African Union force supporting the government.

But the group still has a strong presence in many rural areas.

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Source: BBC

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MPs will gather at the airport to elect a new head of state.

On Tuesday evening, suspected Al-Shabab militants launched a series of attacks, with two mortar rounds fired close to the venue where the vote will be held.

Residents in Arbacow village outside Mogadishu say jihadists attacked an African Union military base there.

More than 20 candidates are vying to become Somali president, with the top three proceeding to a second round of voting and the top two from that round going forward to a third and final vote.

Incumbent President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud is standing for re-election and analysts say he is likely to be one of those who goes forward to the later rounds.

Results are expected later on Wednesday.

The airport is viewed as the most secure site in the Somali capital and voting was moved there from a police academy because of growing security concerns.

Wednesday’s security measures will include a ban on flights to and from Mogadishu airport.

Correspondents said most schools and offices remained open on Tuesday but people had had to walk to reach their destination.

Analysts say holding the election in the airport environment may also reduce the possibility of vote buying or other corruption in the election process.

Somalia has not had an effective central government since the fall of the Siad Barre regime in 1991. The Mogadishu-based government is backed by an African Union force, Amisom, made up of more than 22,000 troops and police, as well as civilian staff.

Al-Shabab has a presence in much of the southern third of the country and has carried out many attacks in Mogadishu.

It has previously attacked the Somali parliament, presidential palace, courts, hotels and the fortified airport zone.

At least 19 politicians, as well as civilians and soldiers have been killed in its assaults.

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Credit: BBC

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