Mogadishu: Witnesses and officials say Somali insurgents have fired mortars near the presidential palace, killing seven civilians and two government soldiers.
Military spokesman Farhan Casoye said the insurgents were likely trying to target the palace Tuesday night, but missed and hit residential areas instead.
Somalia has not had a functioning government since the ouster of a longtime dictator in 1991. The country is riven by fighting among clan warlords and an Islamist insurgency that has killed thousands of civilians and sent hundreds of thousands fleeing for their lives.
The United States worries that Somalia could be a terrorist breeding ground, particularly since Osama bin Laden declared his support for the Islamists.