Ambush in Somalia kills at least 5 military officials

By Mohammed Dhaysane

GAROWE, Somalia (AA) - At least five Somali military officials were killed and three others wounded when gunmen ambushed a military convoy near the town of Guri-El in central Somalia's Galmudug state on Wednesday.

The attack took place as the Somali national army personnel were returning from a training workshop in Guri-El, located approximately 450 kilometers (270 miles) north of the capital Mogadishu.

"A military convoy carrying Somali national army was attacked by gunmen in three different directions outside the town of Guri-El, killing five officials," Gulaid Abdirashid Hassan, a military official in Galgadud region, told Anadolu Agency over the phone.

Military reinforcements and officials from local authorities arrived at the scene and an investigation is currently underway, he added.

The attack comes after Somali military officials in southwestern province of Gedo said that they had conducted a military operations against Somali-based al-Qaeda affiliated group al-Shabaab, killing five militants.

No group has yet claimed responsibility for attack.