2 blasts, gunfire heard near Somalia’s presidential palace

Two large explosions followed by gunfire have been heard near the presidential palace in Somalia’s capital.

The blasts come a week after a similar attack on the interior ministry compound in Mogadishu killed at least nine people.

The Somalia-based Al-Shabab extremist group, an arm of Al-Qaeda, often targets high-profile places in the capital and claimed responsibility for the attack a week ago.

The threat from what has become the deadliest Islamic extremist group in sub-Saharan Africa has hurt efforts to strengthen Somalia’s fragile government and stabilize the long-chaotic Horn of Africa nation.