Kenya, March 19 -- Militants from Al Shabaab aimed at Somalia's President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud in a bomb attack on his motorcade while it was travelling through the capital, Mogadishu, on Tuesday. The group said they were behind the attack.
Two important government and military officials told Reuters that the president was safe after the explosion.
A presidential adviser, Zakariye Hussein, shared on X that the president was "good and well on his way to the front lines," meaning he was okay and going to areas where fighting was happening.
Soldiers and local people who saw the attack confirmed that the president's vehicles were targeted.
A journalist from Reuters at the scene reported seeing the bodies of four people who were killed near the presidential palace.
Al Shabaab stated their fighters targeted Mohamud's convoy of vehicles as it left the palace heading to the airport.
The group has been attacking Somalia's government for many years, but this was the first time they directly attacked him since 2014. Back then, they bombed a hotel where he was speaking.
A few hours after the attack, state media shared pictures of the president in the Adan Yabal district of the Middle Shabelle region of Somalia.
Government forces there are currently fighting against an al Shabaab offensive that has been ongoing for three weeks.
Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from Bana Kenya.