Five Somali soldiers killed in landmine blast in Afgooye

Five Somali soldiers were killed Tuesday morning in Afgooye town some 30 kilometres southwest of Mogadishu following landmine explosions barely 12 hours after a fierce fight between Somali forces and Al-Shabaab in the town.

“Last night, we repulsed the militants who attacked us. They must have planted the bomb,” Major Osman Abdulle, a police officer, told Reuters

Goobjoog News correspondent in Afgooye said the militant buried landmines on the roadside after fierce fight with Somali forces Monday night before retreating. “Al-Shabaab fighters buried landmines along the way and when the Somali forces returned this morning, their vehicles drove over the landmines.”

A local administrator said the militants killed a woman in the outskirts of the town before launching attacks on the town Monday evening. Seven people were injured and three others were killed.

The attack on Afgooye is the second this year after a similar attack early this month. Our correspondent says security forces did not deploy in Afgooye town after the December attack on Somali National Army base in December in Afgooye making it easy for the militants to launch attacks.

Al Shabaab, which has been waging an insurgency across Somalia, claimed responsibility for the bombing. The group is fighting to topple the Western-backed government in Mogadishu.

“We planted the bomb last night. At least seven soldiers died,” Sheikh Abdiasis Abu Musab, the group’s military operations spokesman, told Reuters.

Goobjoog News and Reuters