Road accident kills 10 Somali troops in Puntland

Somali soldiers patrol in a pickup truck near the site where al-Shabab militants carried out an attack against a military intelligence base in Mogadishu on June 21, 2015. (AFP photo)

Monday, June 22, 2015

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At least ten members of Somali security forces have been killed and 20 others injured in a road accident in the country’s northeastern semi-autonomous Puntland region.

Local Somali security officials said the accident happened on the road between the towns of Garowe and Lasanod on Sunday.

The accident happened after a military truck, which had an anti-aircraft gun mounted on the back, overturned in the troubled region.

"The death toll will possibly increase," DPA news agency quoted an unnamed regional police official as saying.

Road accidents are common in the war-ravaged country due to poor road construction, badly maintained vehicles, routine disregard of traffic laws, and lack of proper driving skills.

In a separate development on Sunday, at least four al-Shebab militants were killed after they detonated a car bomb while attempting to storm a military intelligence complex in the Somali capital of Mogadishu.

Somalia has been the scene of fierce fighting between Shebab militants and government forces since 2006.

The militants have been pushed out of Mogadishu and other major cities by government soldiers and the African Union Mission to Somalia.

The militants have, however, continued to launch terrorist attacks in Mogadishu despite being ousted from their bases in the seaside city in 2011.

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