BARAWE, Somalia, May 17 – A roadside bomb struck a vehicle collecting khat near Baraawe Airport in Somalia’s South West State on Saturday, killing two people and wounding two others, security officials said.
The explosion occurred about five kilometres from the city centre, between the village of Ambareesa and the airport, in an area where Islamist insurgent group al Shabaab has previously carried out attacks.
“The vehicle was targeted while transporting khat from Mogadishu to Baraawe. Two civilians were killed instantly and two others sustained injuries,” a local security official told Shabelle Media, requesting anonymity as they were not authorized to speak to the media.
No group has claimed responsibility for the bombing, but al Shabaab, which is linked to al Qaeda, frequently stages roadside bombings and ambushes targeting government forces, civilians, and supply convoys in the region.
The Somali government, backed by African Union troops, has been engaged in an ongoing offensive aimed at dislodging the group from rural strongholds in southern and central Somalia.
