Sunday, September 12, 2010
MOGADISHU (AFP)— Five Somali soldiers died Saturday when a bomb ripped apart their vehicle in the capital Mogadishu, police and witnesses said.
"The five soldiers were killed when a bomb placed on a well-traveled road in the Waberi neighbourhood exploded, and six others including civilians were wounded," said police officer Abdisalam Mohamed.
"The vehicle was totally destroyed by the blast. I saw the charred bodies that security agents pulled out of the wreckage," said witness Suleqo Osmail.
Two other Somali soldiers were wounded Saturday when a bomb struck their passing vehicle in the Hamarweyn neighbourhood in southern Mogadishu, police said.
Somalia has been ravaged by nearly 20 years of a bloody civil war and some 6,000 African Union troops are the only hurdle between the Al Qaeda-inspired Shebab and a total take-over of the conflict-torn Somali capital.
Source: AFP