At least 12 dead in Somalia market bombing

PanARMENIAN.Net - At least 12 people have been killed and more than 30 badly injured by a bombing in the central Somali town of Baidoa, BBC News reported.

The governor of the Bay region, Abdifitah Mohamed Gesey, said that most of the casualties were women and children. Mr Gesey said the bomb was planted in a small basket and hidden in a busy market in the centre of town.

It is the worst attack in Baidoa since Ethiopian troops took control from the Islamist group, al-Shabab, in February.

Witnesses said the bomb went off shortly after Somali government troops had arrived in the market.

"This was a disaster," Adan Hassan, a witness told the AFP news agency. "I saw [the] bodies of at least nine civilians, most of them women. The explosion occurred as people were shopping."

A spokesman for al-Shabab's military operations said it was behind for the blast.

"We targeted the Ethiopian and the Somali troops. About three of them died," Sheikh Abdiasis Abu Musab told the Reuters news agency.

In February al-Shabab merged with al-Qaeda, and still controls much of the south of the country.