June 16, 2012 - 9:34 AM
MOGADISHU, Somalia - MOGADISHU, Somalia (AP) — A Somali policeman says a suicide bomber has detonated an explosives-laden car at an army base in a town recently wrested from insurgent control.
Police officer Mohamed Farah did not say how many people may have died in Saturday's blast in the town of Afgoye. He said the bomber detonated the car after soldiers intercepted it and started to fire at him.
Witnesses said they heard a large explosion and saw smoke billowing.
Afgoye town was recently liberated from the control of an al-Qaida-linked militant group.
African Union and Somali troops seized the town on the outskirts of Mogadishu from al-Shabab militants after three days of fighting last month, marking the biggest victory over al-Shabab since the pro-government forces took control of the capital last August.
Somalia has not had an effective central government since 1991.
News from © The Associated Press, 2012