According to police and local officials on Saturday, a roadside bomb set by the jihadist group Al-Shabaab killed at least six soldiers, including a senior military commander, in southern Somalia.
The explosion occurred during a routine military operation near Gofgadud town, about 30 kilometres from Baidoa.
Six soldiers, including Colonel Mohamed Dheere, died immediately, Hassan Mohamed, a military officer in Baidoa, told AFP by phone.
Several others were injured, though the exact number was not specified.
Al-Shabaab, affiliated with Al-Qaeda, claimed responsibility for the attack.
Bombings and other assaults are common in Mogadishu and Baidoa, though there have been fewer recently.
Last week, the Somali government reported that five soldiers died in a battle where they killed nearly 50 fighters in Ceeldheer, north of Mogadishu.
Abdiaziz Hassan Mohamed, the president of the Southwest state, expressed condolences to the soldiers’ families and praised Dheere’s significant role in fighting Al-Shabaab.
Dheere “played an important role in ensuring the country’s security,” Mohamed said, noting he will be “remembered” for his efforts against the Islamist group.
Al-Shabaab has been fighting against Somalia’s central government for over 16 years. Though they were ousted from the capital by an African Union force in 2011, they remain strong in rural areas. They have repeatedly attacked political, security, and civilian targets in Somalia and neighbouring countries like Kenya.
Somalia’s federal government has allied with local clan militias against the Islamists, reclaiming large areas in central Somalia with the support of the AU mission ATMIS and US airstrikes. However, the offensive has faced challenges, with Al-Shabaab claiming earlier this year to have seized multiple locations in central Somalia.
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