Blast kills four soldiers in northern Somalia

Hiiraan Onlin
Tuesday, May 31, 2016

BOSSASO (HOL) - Four soldiers from the northern Somalia semi-autonomous state of Puntland were killed after a roadside bomb ripped through their vehicle in a restive town in the region, officials said Tuesday.

The Al-Qaeda linked Al Shabab group has claimed the responsibility for the attack in the mountainous old town of Galgala town where security forces are fighting a militant group which pledged an allegiance to the so-called Islamic State group based in Iraq and Syria.

The roadside bomb blast occurred as military convoys were travelling in forested area on their to a military base in the outlying town.

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Security forces have increased their military campaign to retake territory from militants in recent months, with fighters are trying to set up a key base in the strategic town that can provide safe haven for the group's fighters often targeted by aerial attacks, by the US forces.es

With a population of nearly 20,000, Galgala town remains the only area in Puntland largely controlled by rebels.

Security experts in the region have long warned of possible links between the local militant group based in Puntland and ISIS fighters in Yemen, saying that more should be done to prepare for such a threat.

The northern Somalia region had remained stable during over decades old conflict in Somalia which largely engulfed large parts in the south and central Somalia.

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