At least five mortar bombs struck ex-German embassy and ministry of health headquarters, and the notorious Jili’ow prison where critics of the outgoing president and terror suspects are held and often tortured.

The Al-Qaeda-affiliated militant group Al-Shabaab has said it carried out the attack, claiming to have hit high-profile targets, including offices where senior officials were staying at the time of the assault.

One of the shells which missed its target reportedly fell inside a residential area in Wardhigley district and killed two people with several others wounded.

Somalia’s federal government, which has been facing pressure to rescind a term extension for president Farmajo, has not immediately commented on the mortar attack, the latest in a spate of assaults by the Islamist militants since a parliament vote last week to extend president’s term by two years deepened political crisis in the country.