Eight civilians including two children were killed in a roadside blast near Baladweyne town in Mudug region, central Somalia on Tuesday.
Abdirahman Ali Diriye, Governor of Mudug region said the eight were killed when a vehicle in which they were traveling ran over an improvised explosive device that had been planted by suspected al-Shabab militants.
Diriye told Radio Mogadishu that three youths who were injured in the blast were rushed to the local hospital in Galkayo.
The al-Shabab militants have intensified attacks in Somalia despite government forces having made intensive operations against the extremists in central and southern regions in recent months in an attempt to flush out al-Shabab cells.
