24 January 2017•Update: 24 January 2017
By Mohammed Dhaysane
MOGADISHU, Somalia
At least five people, including four Somali soldiers, were killed and seven others wounded by a bomb blast claimed by al-Shabaab in Afgoye, southern Somalia Tuesday morning, officials said.
Amin Mohamed, Afogye’s district police commissioner, confirmed to Anadolu Agency on the phone that the bomb targeted security forces in the lower Shabelle region’s town of Afgoye, some 30 kilometers from the country’s capital Mogadishu.
“The bomb was a landmine explosion planted near a security checkpoint. Four Somali army forces were killed and three others wounded. We conducted a security operation after the blast and captured two suspects,” Amin said.
Addow Mo’alim, a Somali national intelligence and security agency officer in Afgoye, also confirmed the incident to Anadolu Agency.
“The bomb blast caused the death of four soldiers and one civilian, and seven were wounded, including four residents,” Adow said
On pro-insurgent radio Andalus, the militant group al-Shabaab claimed responsibility for the bomb blast and said they had killed over seven security forces.
Tuesday’s bomb attack comes a day after heavy fighting between Al-Shabaab and the Somali army in Afgoye, which killed over five people, including a businesswoman.
Afgoye is a strategic agricultural town which has seen more attacks in recent years since the Somali government recaptured it from al-Shabaab in 2012.
