Somali government sacks police, intelligence chiefs after palace attack

Somalia's government has fired its police and intelligence chiefs a day after an attack — for which the armed group Al-Shabab has claimed responsibility — on the heavily guarded presidential palace in the capital, Mogadishu, Information Minister Mustafa Dhuhulow said Wednesday.

Government troops and African Union peacekeepers repelled the attack Tuesday, and no government official was hurt, Dhuhulow said. Three of four attackers were shot dead by soldiers after they forced their way into the palace, sparking an exchange of gunfire, he said. A fourth attacker was wounded.

Dhuhulow told reporters Wednesday that police commander Abdihakim Saaid and intelligence chief Bashir Gobe had been replaced.

A new minister for national security was also appointed in changes announced by Somali Prime Minister Abdiweli Sheikh Ahmed, who was not inside the palace when the attack happened.

The presidential compound, which also houses several government offices, has been the subject of many attacks by Al-Qaeda-linked militants over the years. It was once considered one of the safest places in Mogadishu because of the tight security presence.

Al-Shabab, which is fighting to impose its strict interpretation of Islamic law on Somalia, has vowed to step up attacks during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.

Several towns have been wrested back from the group, but officials said Al-Shabab still controls tracts of countryside and some settlements, from where it has been able to continue its guerrilla-style campaign.

The attack was the second assault on the presidential palace this year, and it marked the first time attackers have been able to breach the compound and take offensive positions inside. The palace is protected by government troops and African Union peacekeepers who helped to drive Al-Shabab fighters out of their bases in Mogadishu in 2011.

Somalia has been trying to rebuild following years of political instability and civil strife since 1991, when the dictator Mohamed Siad Barre was ousted from power.

President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud's Western-backed government has promised to put the country, which has been marred by rampant corruption for years, on a path toward democracy and economic progress, despite regular attacks by armed groups.

Wire services