Landmine blasts kill 5, injure more than 40 in Somalia

MOGADISHU, Somalia

At least five people were killed and more than 40 others wounded on Wednesday when landmines went off at a busy livestock market in the Somalia’s southwestern administrative region of Bay, an official said.

“Al-Shabaab terrorist group had targeted innocent civilians in Gof-gadud district’s livestock market with 4 landmine explosions on Wednesday and 5 people were killed, more than 40 others wounded”, said Nuradin Yusuf, spokesman for the Southwest State in Baidoa city, the capital of Bay region.

"Our administration has sent ambulances to the scene and the wounded people were being transported to hospitals in Baidoa for treatment," Yusuf told Anadolu Agency.

Gof-gadud Burey is a small livestock business district, located some 30 kilometers (18 miles) from Baidoa city.

Somali-based insurgent group al-Shabaab claimed responsibility for the attack and said it had killed more than seven soldiers, a claim rejected by the spokesman for the Southwest State.