Bomb blast targets AU peacekeepers in Somalia

By Mohammed Dhaysane

MOGADISHU, Somalia (AA) - A bomb blast in southern Somalia targeted a military convoy carrying African Union (AU) peacekeepers on Tuesday, local officials said.

The attack took place in the Bufow area outside the port city of Marka, located 92 kilometers (57 miles) south of the capital Mogadishu.

A Somali army captain based in Shabelle region who spoke to Anadolu Agency confirmed the attack but did not provide details on casualties.

The Somali-based and al-Qaeda-affiliated terrorist group al-Shabaab claimed that it had inflicted a large number of casualties and destroyed military vehicles in its attack against African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) troops.

Anadolu Agency contacted the spokesman of AMISOM but he declined to speak on the attack.

Meanwhile, the Somali national army recaptured the town of Doynunay on the outskirts of the city of Baidoa after al-Shabaab fighters overran an army base in the town earlier on Tuesday.

Gen. Mohamed Sheikh Mohamed Irow, a division commander in the Somali army, told reporters that the military had retaken the town from al-Shabaab and are pursuing the attackers.