Grenade attack on premier's residence

Four people were wounded on Friday, two of them seriously, when a hand grenade was thrown into the compound belonging to the prime minister of the Transitional National Government (TNG) Hasan Abshir Farah, according to the Mogadishu police chief.

"At around 9:15 p.m. local time [1815 GMT], a bomb was thrown at the prime minister's residence by an unknown individual or individuals," police chief Abdi Hasan Awale Qeybdid told IRIN on Monday. Qeybdid, who was in Farah's residence at the time of the incident, said the attack was "intentional", but the motive was not yet clear. However, "at no time was the prime minister's life in danger", he stressed.

A Land-Cruiser pick-up belonging to the police chief's security escort was destroyed in the incident, Qeybdid said, adding that all the wounded were members of his own detail.

Other sources in Mogadishu told IRIN that the attack could have been aimed at the police chief or the prime minister, or "more likely was intended to embarrass the TNG, which last month issued a directive banning carrying of weapons on the streets of the city", in its effort to curb spiralling crime.

Qeybdid said the police were investigating the incident. "Our investigations are ongoing, and we have leads," he said, adding that the investigations "should be over in a couple of days, and the results will be made public".