Four Killed in Mogadishu Explosion

Three Somali soldiers and a civilian were killed Friday when a roadside bomb the officers picked up to detonate elsewhere exploded inside their vehicle, officials and witnesses said.

The soldiers picked up the device at a road intersection in Mogadishu's Bakara district and moments later it ripped apart their vehicle, also killing one civilian and injuring four others who were nearby.

"Three soldiers and a woman who was passing by the area were killed and several others injured in the explosion," Mohamed Ali, a government security official told Agence France Presse.

Jama Ibrahim, a witness, said: "The pick-up truck was totally destroyed by the explosion. It was driving off and suddenly there was a heavy explosion and smoke."

Several roadside bombs and grenade explosions have rocked the war-shattered Somali capital since the al-Qaida-linked Shebab rebels abandoned their bases there in August and resorted to guerrilla attacks against the government.