At least five Somali soldiers were injured in a roadside bomb attack about 30 km west of the capital of Mogadishu, on Tuesday, officials said.
Police say the attack targeted a passing military convoy in Afgoye.
“What we are sure of is a military vehicle was hit,” said police officer Major Abdiqadir Ali, adding there were casualties but the death toll had not yet been determined.
Al Shabaab’s military operations spokesman Abdiasis Abu Musab told Reuters they were responsible for the attack.
The group, an ally of Al Qaeda, is fighting to topple the country’s western-backed central government and impose its rule based on its own interpretation of sharia law.
Al Shabaab also wants to force out an African Union-mandated AMISOM peacekeeping force that is helping defend the government of President Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed.
The soldiers in the convoy were U.S.-trained Somali military commandos. Al Shabaab have targeted them on the same road several times in the past.
