Somali soldiers injured in car bomb explosion

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A suicide car bomb explosion at a military base in Somalia injured seven soldiers a military official said with Islamist group al Shabaab claiming responsibility for the attack.

Al Shabaab fights to topple Somalia’s western-backed central government and impose its rule based on its own strict interpretation of Islam’s Sharia law.

Major Hussein Ali, a Somali military officer told Reuters the attack happened at a military base just outside Kismayu in Southern Somalia.
“We fired at the suicide car before it entered the base. It exploded outside the base. Only seven Somali soldiers were injured,” Ali said.

The assault was on the same base where a US soldier was killed in an attack on Friday.

Al Shabaab claimed responsibility for the Saturday attack and said they killed 40 Somali soldiers.
“We killed 40 Somali soldiers in the base,” Abdiasis Abu Musab, al Shabaab’s military operations spokesman, told Reuters.

Al Shabaab is also fighting to drive out African Union mandated peacekeeping force AMISOM.
“The foreign forces ran away from the base because we attacked them. We targeted the Somali forces in the base,” he added.

Abdullahi Ismail, a resident in the area where the attack occurred, told Reuters he saw five casualties taken to a local hospital.