Mogadishu,(insidesomalia.org)- Two deputies of Somali Prime Minister Salim Aliyow Ibrow and Aideed Ilko Hanaf and Somalia's defense minister have survived overnight in the northern part of Mogadishu an assassination attempt by unknown gun who attacked them with a hand grenade, said witness.

The gunmen who fled from the scene hurled the hand grenade inside the home of the defense minister while they were inside but reported unharmed.

"Somali police force that came at the scene of the attack sealed off the area and started search operation for the attackers' said government official who declined his name to be mentioned.

It was the first attack in north Mogadishu where gunmen believed to be insurgents target higher government officials.

On Thursday men armed with pistols killed a police official General Abdi Kahiye, head of Somali police academy in Somalia's capital.. It was the latest in a series of attacks on the police force as the government struggles against an Islamic insurgency.

Though Kahiye was not in charge of key police operations in Mogadishu, he was a well-known figure as the head of the ceremonial orchestra that entertains visiting officials and was considered well-connected politically.

Thousands of Somalis have been killed in fighting between Islamic insurgents and Ethiopian troops supporting Somalia's shaky government over the past 12 months. The Islamists vowed to fight an insurgency after the Ethiopians dislodged them from power in December 2006. They had taken control of the capital and much of southern Somalia for six months before they were pushed into the bush.

More than 10 district commissioners and police officers have been killed in similar attacks in recent months.

Somalia has not had a functioning government since 1991, when warlords overthrew Dictator Mohamed Siad Barre and then turned on one another. A web of clan loyalties and the involvement of archenemies Eritrea and Ethiopia further complicates the conflict in the impoverished country.

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