MOGADISHU, Somalia — At least five mortar rounds were fired into Somalia’s capital, Mogadishu, on Tuesday, with several reportedly landing inside the heavily fortified Halane compound, according to eyewitnesses.
Three of the mortar shells are said to have struck different parts of Halane, which hosts U.S., U.N., African Union, and other foreign diplomatic and humanitarian missions.
Emergency services were activated following the blasts. The casualties or property damage caused by the shelling remains unclear.
Witnesses said the explosions occurred in multiple locations within the compound, though the exact targets have not yet been confirmed.
No group has claimed responsibility, but Al-Shabaab militant group is often linked to such attacks in the capital.
Neither the African Union nor the Federal Government of Somalia has issued an official statement over the rocket attack.
This attack comes just weeks after a similar mortar barrage killed two people and wounded two others in Mogadishu.
On Saturday, 11 people were killed and 20 others were wounded in an Al Shabab suicide explosion outside Damanyo military base in the capital, targeting army recruits.
Driven out of Mogadishu in 2011, Al Shabab stepped up attacks in the Middle and Lower Shabelle and Hiran regions.
For over a decade, the militant group has been fighting to impose a hardline interpretation of Sharia law in Somalia.
Al-Shabab still controls large swaths of southern and central Somalia.
