A roadside bomb has struck an army convoy carrying troops in a remote town in Somalia’s state of Puntland.
The blast killed eight soldiers and injured three others.
The soldiers, who were part of the Puntland state forces positioned in Galgala Mountains, were targeted in the blast planted by the roadside as the convoy was moving from Galgala towards Bosaso city.
Security forces have been battling the so-called Islamic State-linked fighters in the region.
Reports suggest that the al-Qaeda-linked al-Shabaab extremist group have claimed responsibility for the attack. IS-linked extremists have also carried out similar attacks in the past, with civilians often being the casualties of such attacks.
In April, a roadside bomb exploded and killed at least 19 people in a minibus in Somalia’s Lower Shabelle region.
Puntland, located in the northeast of Somalia, has been relatively stable compared to the rest of the country but attacks by the terrorist groups are posing serious risks to the stability of the region.
Fighters affiliated with the Islamic State are a relatively new and growing threat in Somalia, where al-Shabaab has been entrenched for years.
