Somalia: Suicide bomber kills 5 soldiers, injures 1 US soldier

Al-Shabaab suicide bomber kills at least five US soldiers in Somalia

In the village of Jane Abdullah, 60km from the coastal city of Kismayo, a suicide bomber blew up a car packed with explosives near the entrance to a military base.

Muhammad Abdullah, a local security official, told AFP that the vehicle was shot at as soon as he saw it but failed to stop.

Al-Shabaab claimed responsibility for the attack, claiming that 16 Somali and four American soldiers had been killed. However, the militants often denied the allegations.

Somalia has been in constant conflict since 2008, while the internationally backed Somali government has been battling al-Shabab terrorists since 2008.

Al-Shabaab bombings and shootings at a hotel in the capital, Mogadishu, in August killed at least 10 civilians and a police officer.

Earlier this month, four al-Shabab militants held in Mogadishu's Central Prison somehow managed to gain access to a cache of weapons and were killed after a fierce gun battle with security forces.

A suicide car bomb blast near the Somali National Army base in Mogadishu in August killed at least seven people.