Somalia ? A suicide car bomber drove through a roadblock guarding the home of the Somali prime minister on Sunday and rammed the vehicle into a wall. Prime Minister Ali Mohamed Gedi was whisked to safety, officials said, but at least five people were killed in the explosion.

The deputy defense minister blamed the assassination attempt on “terrorists linked to al-Qaida.”

“They planned to kill the prime minister,” Salad Ali Jelle told The Associated Press. “He is alive. And now he is in safe place.”

Qasaye Mohamed Ali, who lives in the neighborhood, said he was standing near the prime minister’s house when he saw the car force its way through a roadblock, guards outside the premier’s house open fire and then the car ram into a wall and explode.