Updated

Police in Somalia say three soldiers have been arrested in connection with the killing of a government minister near the presidential palace.

Police spokesman Qaasim Ahmed confirmed the arrests Thursday as an investigation continues into the circumstances around the shooting, which appeared to be accidental.

Police have said bodyguards for Somalia's auditor general Nur Farah shot dead the public works and reconstruction minister, Abbas Abdullahi, on Wednesday evening. The car carrying the minister had been trailing the car carrying the auditor general, promoting his bodyguards to open fire.

Security concerns are high in Somalia's capital, Mogadishu, as the al-Shabab extremist group continues to target the palace, military facilities and hotels with suicide car bombings and other attacks.

The minister had been the youngest in Somalia's new Cabinet.