Suicide Car Bomb Explosion in Somalia Results in Casualties: Police Reports

A suicide car bomb detonated outside a military base housing Ethiopian soldiers in southern Somalia on Saturday, resulting in an unspecified number of casualties, according to a police official.

The militant group al Shabaab claimed responsibility for the attack, alleging that it had killed 16 Ethiopian soldiers, although this claim has not been independently confirmed.

A local elder who witnessed the incident reported that the explosion had resulted in the deaths of 10 people, including both soldiers and civilians. “The mini bus was very dusty; it must have come from a distant area and was fired upon as it began to speed up,” he described.

Police officer Major Nur Abdullahi, speaking from Bardheere, the town where the attack took place, indicated that the vehicle involved appeared to be a mini bus disguised as a vegetable transport.

“It was shot at before it reached the gate. We understand there are casualties,” Major Abdullahi stated.

Al Shabaab is engaged in efforts to overthrow Somalia’s internationally recognized government and impose its own rule based on a strict interpretation of Islamic sharia law. The group frequently conducts attacks against Somali military forces as well as troops from the African Union peacekeeping mission.

Ethiopia is one of the countries contributing troops to this mission, joining forces with Uganda, Kenya, Rwanda, and others. Somalia has been engulfed in violence since the early 1990s, following the fall of dictator Mohamed Siad Barre.