Somalia: Roadside Bomb Rocks Ethiopian Troops in Central Somalia

[Xaaji Xunjuf]

Baladweyne — A powerful blast has on Thursday rocked across Somalia's central town of Beledweyne, the latest series of attacks against Somali and Ethiopian troops in the town since Al shabab quit Dec 31, 2011, last year, witnesses said.

 

Thursday's explosion hit convoy of military vehicles carrying Ethiopian forces traveling on the outskirts of Beledweyne town, which lies just 350 kilometers north of Mogadishu, Somalia capital, causing unidentified casualties on the soldiers, according a TFG official.

 

"The Blast was used a remote-controlled landmine that struck Ethiopian troops at a remote village located on the suburbs of Beledweyne town and the casualties are yet to be confirmed," said, Mohammed Ibrahim, a TFG official in Beledweyne.

 

Witnesses said Ethiopian troops cordoned off the blast site and conducted heavy search operation to find out the mastermind of the attack, but no arrests were made. The suation is reportedly tense and locals gripped in fear.

 

No ground or individual has claimed the responsibility for the attack so far.

 

Beledweyne, a key town in centralSomalia, 206 miles (332 km) north of Mogadishu, On December 31, 2011, the Transitional Federal Government retook control from the Al-Shabaab militants, without gun battle.