A booby-trapped truck exploded at a checkpoint in the central Somalia town of Bellendwein, killing at least ten people and flattening nearby buildings.
It is currently unclear who is responsible for the attack. The Islamist group al-Shabaab frequently carries out such bombings in Somalia.
“So far I have counted ten dead, including soldiers and civilians. The injured are more than a dozen and the number of victims is sure to rise,” police officer Ahmed Aden told Reuters.
Beledwein is located in the Hiran region where fighting has recently taken place between the army and Shebab fighters.
Aden said the dead included five police officers who fired at the truck in a desperate bid to stop it before it crashed into the guard post. Nearby buildings, shops and the outpost were reduced to a pile of rubble, he added.
A woman, Halima Noor, who was near the area, said her niece and other people had gone to a nearby shop and she cannot contact them. “I don’t know what to say, everything is now ruins, I can’t find my niece,” said the woman.
Source: News Beast
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