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| Somali military officersat their military base in Mogadishu. REUTERS/Feisal Omar |
A suicide bomber blew himself up in a military camp in the Somali town of Galkayo on Saturday, killing four officers, officials said, an attack claimed by the al Qaeda-linked al Shabaab group.
The dead included a military commander and two colonels, the townโs mayor, Hirsi Yusuf Barre, told Reuters.
The camp houses a force made up of soldiers from the countryโs semi-autonomous regions of Puntland and Galmudug who have been integrated into the federal army under efforts to unite the fractured country.
โThe death toll may rise,โ police officer Abdirahman Haji said.
Al Shabaabโs military operation spokesman, Abdiasis Abu Musab, said it killed five people in the attack.
Al Shabaab is fighting to topple Somaliaโs central government and establish its own rule based on its interpretation of Islamic law.
Since withdrawing from Mogadishu in 2011, the group has lost control of most of Somaliaโs cities and towns. But it still retains a strong presence in regions outside the capital.
