Reports say the four were members of the same family including two children and their two parents who were hit by a mortar shell fired by Al-Shabaab militant group. Only a child survived with shrapnel wounds during the incident.

Al-Shabaab claimed responsibility of the Sunday night mortar attacks, saying that it was targeting heavily fortified Somalia’s presidential palace and boasted of killing African Union and government soldiers.

But AU force spokesman Paddy Ankunda told Reuters that only civilians were killed, adding the shells missed the presidency by about 500 metres and hit one of the many crowded camps.