Somalia: Suicide bomb blast kills 4, wounds at least 8

By Mohammed Dhaysane

BAIDOA, Somalia (AA) - At least four people including three soldiers were killed and more than eight wounded by a suicide car bomb in southern Somalia on Sunday, officials said.

Ali Adan, a police sergeant in Somalia's lower Shabelle region where the attack took place, told Anadolu Agency by phone that a car suicide bomb attack had targeted a security checkpoint in the town of Afgoye.

More than eight other people, including soldiers and civilians, were wounded, some of them critically, and were rushed to the capital Mogadishu for treatment, he added.

Ali Nur Mohamed, Lower Shabelle’s vice governor, also confirmed the attack, saying that authorities are investigating the blast.

On the Internet, the al-Qaeda-affiliated group al-Shabaab claimed responsibility for the attack.

Afgoye is an agricultural town located 30 kilometers (18 miles) southwest of Mogadishu.