The Somalian government says a roadside bomb has exploded near the presidential palace and the attack by a militant group targeted the president's convoy. The Information Ministry in a statement called the attack Tuesday in the capital Mogadishu a “cowardly act of desperation” by the militant group al-Shabab, which claimed responsibility. The statement did not provide an official death toll but a witness said he counted three bodies at the scene. Al-Shabab opposes Somalia’s federal government and frequently carries out bombings and assaults targeting government officials and military personnel in the Horn of Africa nation.
