15 Somalis killed in presidential palace attack

Islamist militants attacked Somalia's presidential compound and other government positions in the capital yesterday, and at least 15 people were killed and 30 others wounded, officials and witnesses said.
President Sheik Sharif Sheik Ahmed has been attending a UN-sponsored conference in Turkey aimed at helping the lawless Horn of Africa nation and was not in the palace at the time of the attack.
Somali insurgents have repeatedly targeted key government installations, firing mortars at the presidential palace as well as the airport and the seaport. And at least 16 civilians have been killed last weekend when Islamic insurgents attacked a building where Somalia's parliament was meeting.
Ali Ahmed, who witnessed the Sunday's fighting, said that at least six mortars landed near the palace.
A spokesman for the Somali military, Mohamed Kalmoy, accused the al-Qaida-linked militants of instigating the violence, saying his forces had killed many insurgents.