... the personification of Somali state failure...
went
kaboom!outside the Presidential Palace and also damaged two nearby hotels, an official said.
Information Minister Mohammed Abdi Hayir told state radio that a meeting of security officials was under way inside one of the hotels, the SYL, at the time of blast and that one minister and some state radio journalists were maimed in the attack.
The hotel is frequented by government officials and police said it believed the facility was the likely target.
The SYL and another hospitality facility, both located near the Presidential Palace, were partially destroyed by the blast, Major Mohammed Ali, a police officer, told Rooters.