Two soldiers killed in car bomb explosion Somalia's capital

MOGADISHU, Somalia - At least two Somali soldiers were killed when their vehicle struck an improvised explosive device (IED) in the west of Mogadishu on Saturday morning, Garowe Online reports.

Aden Hussein, a witness told Garowe Online that heavy gunfire was heard after the blast ripped through a vehicle carrying Somali military personnel on a road between Hoosh and Ex-control Afgoye.

"I saw with my own eyes two dead bodies laid around in a pool of blood after a bomb fitted into a military vehicle exploded the street linking Ex-control Afgoye to Hoosh junction on Saturday noon," said Hussein.

The blast, near the main security checkpoint in Mogadishu, reverberated throughout the city and sent massive plumes of black smoke into the air. There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attack.

Al-Shabaab, an al-Qaeda-affiliated militant group is waging a deadly insurgency in Somalia claimed responsibility for previous deadly car bombings and assaults in the long-chaotic seaside capital.

The attack comes just three weeks after at least 90 people were killed and more than 100 injured in a truck bomb attack by al-Shabaab on a Turkish convoy at Ex-control Afgoye. The dead included two Turkish engineers.

Al-Shabaab remains a major security threat, with fighters frequently carrying out bombings in Somalia and neighboring Kenya, whose troops form part of the AU force [AMISOM] that helps defend the Somali government.

GAROWE ONLINE