Somalia: Car bomb targets U.S., AU military convoy near Mogadishu

MOGADISHU, Somalia - At least two people have been killed and several were wounded in a car bomb blast next to AU and U.S. military convoy near Somalia's capital on Tuesday, Garowe Online reports.

GO's reporter in Mogadishu says the massive explosion targeting foreign troops took place in Weydow village, along the main road linking Mogadishu to Afgoye district, southwest of Mogadishu.

Al-Shabaab, an Islamist militant group linked to al-Qaeda, has claimed responsibility for the attack, saying a suicide bomber rammed a car bomb into the convoy ferrying allied forces heading to the capital.

Unnamed Al Shabaab commander told the group's mouthpiece, Radio Andalus that five American soldiers had been killed after a suicide bomber targeted AMISOM convoy escorting U.S. officials.

The convoy has been traveling from Ballidoogle Air Force Base in Somalia's southern Lower Shabelle region and was en route to the capital at the time of the blast. The bomber was among two killed in Tuesday's attack.

The United States Africa Command [AFRICOM] has not reported any casualties among US soldiers.

This attack comes as the United States is stepping up its military airstrikes inside Somalia, targeting Al Shabaab and pro-ISIL militants in the country's northeastern semiautonomous state of Puntland.

GAROWE ONLINE