Somalia's al Shabaab say attack meant to get president 'dead or alive'

A Somali government soldier secures the scene of a suicide attack next to the gate of the Presidential Palace in Mogadishu February 21, 2014. REUTERS/Feisal Omar

MOGADISHU (Reuters) - Islamist militants said on Saturday their attack on the Somali president's compound, in which at least 11 people died, was an attempt to kill or abduct him.

Al Shabaab fighters blasted through a gate with a car bomb on Friday and fought a gunbattle with guards at the heavily-fortified compound known as Villa Somalia. President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud was unharmed in the assault.