Three killed in Somali violence - AFP

BAIDOA, Somalia (AFP) — Three civilians were killed Thursday in the Somali capital and a senior government official escaped an assassination bid in the country's central region.
The three were killed in separate gun attacks in Mogadishu's notoriously dangerous Bakara market while another civilian was wounded, witnesses said.
In the central Hiraan region, insurgents hurled a grenade at the convoy of the local district commissioner Elmi Saney, who survived the overnight ambush.
"They wanted to get rid of me, luckily I escaped, but three of my bodyguards were injured," he said.

"We know there are many insurgents hiding in this town and they want to kill government officials. We are investigating the incident and we will bring them to justice," Saney added.
Meanwhile, insurgents ambushed Somali forces in southern Mogadishu overnight, witnesses said. Clashes ensued but there were no immediate reports of casualties.
Also in the capital, Interior Minister Mohamed Mohamoud Guled announced the lifting of a nighttime curfew imposed in the capital in June.

"The government has lifted the curfew ... it does not mean that police will stop operations, but for the sake of the holy month of Ramadan so that people can go to worship at night," Guled told a press conference.

The Somali government is battling a deadly insurgency, mainly in Mogadishu, where near-daily attacks target state officials, as well as Somali and Ethiopian troops.