Police: Blasts at home of Somalia’s new president

MOGADISHU, Somalia — A police official says two explosions near the gate of the temporary home of Somalia’s new president killed at least one person.

Police corporal Yusuf Ali said Wednesday that he was guarding the Somalia immigration department near the Jazeera hotel when the blast occurred. An official inside Jazeera Hotel, who asked for anonymity, says President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud is safe.

Mohamud was elected Monday beating Sheik Shariff Sheikh Ahmed who was seeking re-election after leading a transitional government for three years. Mohamud is expected to form a fully functioning government for Somalia which has not had one since 1991 when a longtime dictator was overthrown.

Al-Shabab, a radical Islamist militia that is waging an insurgency against the Somali government, opposed Mohamud’s election saying it had been manipulated by the west.

Source:AP