Tragedy struck in Mogadishu on Tuesday morning when suspected members of the Al-Shabaab militant group launched a mortar round attack near the presidential palace.
The attack claimed the lives of at least three members of one family, including an infant who was less than a month old.
According to eyewitnesses, one of the mortar shells landed in a civilian house in the Wartanabada district, killing a father and his daughter and injuring the mother of the family. The father was a well-known Quranic school teacher and an Imam in the area.
This attack is just the latest in a series of violent incidents in Somalia, where Al-Shabaab continues to pose a threat to the security and stability of the country.
Earlier this week, the Somali government released images of the aftermath of an explosion attack at a mosque in the Daru-nimca area of the Middle Shabelle region.
The government has accused Al-Shabaab militants of carrying out the attack on Friday, but no information about casualties has been provided.
Al-Shabaab, an Islamist militant group, has been active in Somalia for more than a decade, seeking to overthrow the government and establish an Islamic state.
The group has been responsible for numerous attacks on civilians and government targets, including a deadly attack on a hotel in Mogadishu in 2019 that claimed the lives of at least 26 people.
The government, with the support of international partners, has made progress in recent years in pushing back against Al-Shabaab and other extremist groups.
However, the group remains a potent threat, as demonstrated by the recent attacks in Mogadishu and Middle Shabelle.
