Suicide bombing kills 3 Somali soldiers outside Mogadishu

Somali government soldiers walk near a car after two armed militants were killed by Somali forces, at the Benadir checkpoint in Mogadishu, Somalia ON Sunday. (REUTERS)

• Somalia has been convulsed by lawlessness and violence since 1991 when dictator Mohamed Siad Barre was toppled

MOGADISHU: At least three Somali soldiers were killed in a suicide bomb attack in Afgoye district, a town 30 km to the northwest of the capital Mogadishu, police and militants said.
The attack was claimed by Al-Shabab militants. Somali soldiers were deployed in Afgoye this week in efforts to tighten security in the town ahead of an expected visit by President Mohamed Abdullahi Farmaajo.
“Police and military fired at a speeding suicide car bomb today and it exploded in Afgoye district. So far we know three soldiers died,” Captain Nur Ali, a police officer, told Reuters by phone from Afgoye.
Al-Shabab claimed responsibility for the attack, citing a higher death toll than the police.
“A suicide car bomb targeted Somali forces who were deployed ahead of President Farmaajo’s visit in Afgoye. We killed 11 soldiers,” Abdiasis Abu Musab, Al-Shabab’s military operation spokesman, told Reuters on Sunday.
In a separate incident, Somali forces killed two militants after fighting erupted briefly at a checkpoint in Mogadishu early Sunday, police said.
“Somalia’s military killed two armed militants at Benadir checkpoint. Two soldiers were slightly injured in the exchange of fire,” Major Mohamed Abdullahi, a police officer, told Reuters. 
Somalia has been convulsed by lawlessness and violence since 1991 when dictator Mohamed Siad Barre was toppled.
Al-Shabab is fighting to dislodge the Western-backed central government and African Union-mandated peacekeeping force AMISOM, which defends it.
Separately, Ethiopian troops clashed with a local police force in the restive Somali region, with the Defense Ministry saying it will “take the necessary measures” to restore order.
Witnesses said the fighting on Saturday in the regional capital of Jigjiga led to the burning of two churches and the destruction of several dozen businesses.
It is not immediately clear what set off the clashes. Government officials were not available for comment.