20120812
Press TV
Two Somalia government soldiers have been killed and two others injured in a landmine explosion in Somalia’s capital city of Mogadishu, Press TV reports.


The explosion was set to target senior government officials. However, it missed the target and hit a military vehicle in Mogadishu’s northern district of Huriwa late on Friday.


“The bomb planted near Suqa-holaha (Animal Market) went off. 2 soldiers died on the spot while 2 others were hit by shrapnel," Aden Mahir, an eyewitness, told Press TV.

"It’s believed to have been targeting senior military officials, including Cap. Saney Abdulle an army commander,” he added.

No group or individual has claimed responsibility for the attack. However officials are blaming al-Shabab militants.

Somalia has not had a functioning government since 1991, when warlords overthrew former dictator Mohamed Siad Barre.


The weak Western-backed transitional government in Mogadishu has been battling al-Shabab for the past five years and is propped up by thousands of African Union forces from Uganda, Burundi, and Djibouti.

Somalia is one of the countries generating the highest number of refugees and internally displaced people in the world.