MOGADISHU (Kaab TV) – A drone incident over Somalia’s presidential palace, Villa Somalia, on January 31 has intensified long-standing security concerns among Somali officials and Western counter-terrorism experts.
A security officer at Villa Somalia told Kaab TV that palace guards opened fire with small arms and anti-aircraft weapons in an attempt to neutralize the drones.
While there are reports that two drones were shot down, Kaab TV could not independently verify this claim.
On Friday night, security officials at the presidential palace reported that the drones flew dangerously close to Villa Somalia, which houses President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud, Prime Minister Hamza Abdi Barre, and Speaker of Parliament Sheikh Aden Madobe.
The incident caused alarm among senior government officials.
Residents near the palace told Kaab TV that heavy gunfire lasted for more than two hours as guards attempted to shoot down the drones.
#BREAKING: Suspected drone approaches Somalia presidential palace in #Mogadishu resulting guards to fire indiscriminate into the air.
Confusion rocks the presidency. It is not clear where the drone came from, however security sources suspect the nature of the drone and its… pic.twitter.com/k9tRR4dMdG
— Kaab TV (@KaabTV) January 31, 2025
No group has claimed responsibility for the incident, and security officials are still investigating the drones’ origins.
Al-Shabaab’s Drone Ambitions
Al-Shabaab, the al-Qaeda-affiliated militant group, has long sought to acquire combat drones and missiles.
Intelligence sources and defectors have previously revealed that the group attempted to develop electric-powered aircraft, though these efforts were reportedly disrupted by Somali and African Union military operations.
Despite setbacks, al-Shabaab continues its pursuit of aerial weaponry.
In June 2024, U.S. intelligence uncovered discussions between Yemen’s Houthi rebels and al-Shabaab regarding the supply of weapons, according to CNN.
In response, Somali Prime Minister Hamza Abdi Barre and President Hassan Sheikh’s security adviser, Hussein Sheikh Ali, met with Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) officials in Baghdad, urging Iran to pressure the Houthis to halt weapons sales to al-Shabaab.
It remains unclear whether these diplomatic efforts were successful.
The drone incident in Mogadishu has raised concerns not only for Villa Somalia but also for other critical locations, including Aden Adde International Airport and the adjacent Halane area, which hosts foreign embassies and UN offices.
Al-Shabaab has previously targeted these locations with deadly suicide bombings and mortar attacks.
In northeastern Somalia, Puntland security forces last month reported shooting down more than a dozen drones deployed by Islamic State (ISIS) militants engaged in clashes with regional forces in the mountainous Bari region.
Kaab TV reporters who examined the downed drones identified them as Chinese and Iranian models, which had been reconfigured and fitted with improvised explosive devices (IEDs).
Puntland security officials told Kaab TV that it remains unclear how ISIS militants acquired these drones.