Somalia's intelligence agency warns of al Shabaab threat against top leaders

A file photo of an armed member of the militant group al-Shabaab attending a rally in support of the merger of the Somali militant group al-Shabab with al-Qaida.

The al Shabaab group linked to al Qaeda plans to target Somali President Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed and Prime Minister Mohamed Hussein Roble, the country's intelligence agency warned on Tuesday.

Violence by the group, which aims to topple the central government and impose its own severe version of Islamic law, has been an impediment to parliamentary elections taking place since November.