Somalia:15 killed, 50 injured in bomb blast

In Somalia, at least 15 people were killed and more than 50 injured in three bombings in the central Hirshabelle state on Saturday. In Bulobarde town, some 220 kilometres north of Mogadishu, a suicide car bomb has killed at least 11 people. At least four people were killed when a powerful car bomb exploded near a Somali military checkpoint in Jalalaqsi town. Another one went off almost simultaneously nearby when security officials shot the driver of the vehicle. Both the towns of Jalalaqsi and Bulobarde are important trading and farming towns located along the banks of the Shabelle River, and they also are the second and third-biggest towns in Hiran province.

According to witnesses, the checkpoint is near local government buildings and a military base belonging to African Union peacekeepers from Djibouti. Both the towns of Jalalaqsi and Bulobarde are important trading and farming towns located along the banks of the Shabelle River, and they also are the second- and third-biggest towns in Hiran province.