At least 10, including a government soldier and the suspected suicide bomber, were killed in a car explosion at a security checkpoint on the outskirts of the Somali capital, Mogadishu, on Saturday.
The attack happened at Sinka-Dheer area when a bomber rammed his explosives-laden minibus into a security checkpoint manned by US-trained Somali Special Forces known as “Alpha Group”, a local website Garowe Online reported.
Al Shabaab group has claimed responsibility for the massive car bomb attack at Sinka-Dheere located on a highway linking Mogadishu to Afgoye District in Lower Shabelle region, southern of Somalia.
In a statement posted on its affiliated websites, Al Shabaab claimed they used a car packed with explosives driven by the suicide bomber to attack the Alpha Group soldiers at the checkpoint.
There were conflicting reports on the casualties as Al Shabaab claimed killing 10 soldiers in the attack, but NISA denied the report and said they lost a soldier who stopped the vehicle near the checkpoint.
Al Qaida-linked Al Shabaab group has vowed to disrupt the ongoing election in the country and intensified its terrorist attacks against security forces, allied AMISOM forces and civilian targets to defeat the western-backed Somali government in Mogadishu.
