An al-Shabaab bomb attack killed 12 people, including five soldiers, in Somalia’s Puntland region on Friday, the Puntland military said.
The explosions hit Af-Urur, 100 kilometres south of the city of Bosaso.
Af-Urur is near the Galgala hills, an area controlled by al-Shabaab Islamists who have attacked and captured the town several times and in June killed 38 people there.
“A bomb planted near the khat market of Af-Urur exploded,” Major Mohamed Ismail, a Puntland military officer, told Reuters. “So far 12 people including civilians and soldiers have died.”
The attack coincided with Eid al-Adha, a Muslim holiday.
A-Shabaab, which is linked to al-Qaeda and wants to impose strict Islamic law, claimed responsibility.
“We are behind the attack in Af-Urur village. We killed five soldiers and injured 10 others,” al-Shabaab’s military operations spokesman Sheikh Abdiasis Abu Musab told Reuters.
