Somali troops invading Mogadishu homes in search of militants after presidential palace attack

Somalis gather near the wreckage of one of the vehicles used for a car bomb, following a militant attack on the presidential palace in Mogadishu, Somalia Friday, Feb. 21, 2014. Nine al-Shabab militants wearing military fatigues and carrying guns and grenades died after attacking the presidential palace with two car bombs on Friday, in an assault the president called a "media spectacular" by a "dying animal." President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud was unharmed, but two government officials were killed, the interior ministry said. (AP Photo/Farah Abdi Warsameh) (The Associated Press)

Security forces in Somalia's capital are carrying out a sweeping crackdown in a hunt for militants and weapons after the country's al-Qaida-linked militants group's latest attack on the presidential palace.

Soldiers have been entering homes and deploying on Mogadishu's key roads following the Friday attack, which saw multiple car bombs and seven gunmen try to penetrate the presidential palace. Al-Shabab's spokesman vowed that the group would succeed in killing Somalia's president.

Police Capt. Mohamed Hussein said a security operation seen in the capital Sunday and Monday has rounded up many suspects.

The tightened security reflects the ongoing threat from al-Shabab, which has lost control of the capital since 2011 but still carries out suicide bombings across the city.