( CNN ) -- Somalia 's new president , Hassan Sheikh Mohamud , escaped an apparent assassination attempt in the capital , Mogadishu , on Wednesday , just two days after being selected as the troubled country 's new leader . According to a presidential press officer and several journalists at the scene , early indications are that the attack was carried out by two suicide bombers who set off explosives at the gates of the Jazeera Palace Hotel , where the president was having high-level meetings . At least four Somali government soldiers and one African Union soldier were killed in the attack , according to journalists at the scene . CNN affiliate KTN reported that Kenyan Foreign Affairs Minister Sam Ongeri was in the hotel at the time of the blast . Mohamud , a political newcomer who has worked for the United Nations and several other international organizations , was voted in by Somali lawmakers Monday . Somalia picks political newcomer as president in landmark vote . His election marked a milestone for the nation , which plunged into chaos after dictator Mohamed Siad Barre was overthrown 21 years ago . Following his ouster , clan warlords and militants battled for control , sparking a civil war and mayhem nationwide . Somalia has not had an effective central government since then and has mostly remained under a shaky transitional federal government . On Tuesday , the Islamic militant group Al-Shabaab , which has been fighting to overthrow the authorities , released a statement dismissing the elections and calling them a Western plot . It vowed to oppose the newly named government . Al-Shabaab `` does not regard the so called elections as being in the interests of the Somali people . They represent Western interests , and interests of their agents in the region , '' the statement said .
Somalia 's new leader escapes an apparent assassination attempt in Mogadishu . At least two Somali ##s and an African Union soldier were killed , witnesses say . Two suicide bombers appear to have carried out the hotel attack , witnesses say . Hassan Sheikh Mohamud was voted in by Somali lawmakers Monday .