Seventeen were killed in attacks in Mogadishu, including 13 in a Shabaab mortar strike. The director of security at Somalia’s National Security Ministry said the government is powerless against the al Qaeda-backed group. “About 80 percent of Somalia is not safe and is not under control of the government,” Nur said. “Islamists are planning to launch a massive attack against the (government) and its allied troops.” A security official and his sister were killed in Baidoa.
