Somalia: Five soldiers killed in Blast outside Mogadishu

MOGADISHU, Somalia - At least five soldiers people were killed, several others wounded following a roadside landmine explosion outside Somalia's capital Mogadishu on Tuesday morning, Garowe Online reports.

A witness confirmed to GO that the incident took place at KM13 area after a remote-controlled Improvised Explosive Device [IED] has ripped apart a military vehicle carrying military forces.

Another eyewitness recounted the incident to GO, saying the blast sparked large black plumes of smoke that were visible throughout the Taredishe area, about 13 Kilometers west of the capital.

The area is home to thousands of internally displaced persons (IDPs) who fled from the recent drought and conflict in the south and central Somalia.

Al Shabaab has claimed responsibility for the attack through a statement, saying it killed the commissioner of Elbur district in Galgadud region who was traveling in a pickup vehicle.

The vehicle had been torn apart by the blast, killing Biyo-Qute, the Elbur DC and his bodyguards said the Al-Qaeda-linked group that previously carried out a string of similar attacks in the capital.

Somali military officials are yet to comment on the incident.

The militants have intensified roadside blasts on Mogadishu-Afgoye road in the recent past and staged major assaults on the government and African Union peacekeeping mission forces in the Horn of Africa nation. 

GAROWE ONLINE