Somalia: 5 civilians killed in land mine explosion

By JERUSALEM POST STAFF
A land mine exploded in the Somali capital killing five bus passengers and injuring three others Tuesday, hours after attacks in southern and central Somalia killed eight people, including a 4-year-old, said witnesses. "A land mine went off as a government vehicle passed by and the explosion hit my public bus, killing five passengers, including a woman," said Ahmed Ali, the driver of the bus that was carrying passengers in the southern neighborhoods of Mogadishu. In recent days, Mogadishu's southern areas have become the front line for battles between government soldiers, their Ethiopian allies and Islamic insurgents. Late Monday, a one-hour gunbattle between 40 heavily armed insurgents and government soldiers in Mogadishu killed two civilian men and the 4-year-old, said Abdi Mo'alin Mohamed, a clan elder.