At least 15 soldiers killed in suicide bombing in Somalia

At least 15 soldiers were killed and dozens more injured in a suicide bombing targeting a military training camp, south of the Somali capital of Mogadishu, Tuesday, police and witnesses said.

A police officer who did not want to be named told Xinhua that a suicide bomber blew himself up at General Dhagobadan military training camp.

“So far, we know that 15 soldiers were killed in the attack. The death toll could rise at any moment,” the officer said, adding that the casualties were mostly recruits joining the Somali National Army (SNA).

Witnesses said they saw injured people being taken to the hospitals.

“I saw ambulances entering Madina hospital where they rushed the injured ones from the blast scene,” said Ibrahim Ahmed, a witness.

No group has claimed responsibility for the latest attack, but the militant group Al-Shabaab usually conducts similar attacks in the past.

Somalia and partner forces have intensified military operations into territory formerly controlled by Al-Shabaab after driving the insurgents out of Mogadishu in 2011.

The Al-Shabaab group, however, still controls some parts of rural southern and central Somalia and continues to carry out high-profile attacks in Mogadishu and elsewhere.

By Xinhua