Mogadishu, Jan 2 (IANS) At least one person was killed and 14 others, including seven Kenyan teachers, were injured in a roadside blast in Galkcayo, a city in central Somalia, authorities said Friday.
“Our bus was heading to the market when suddenly we heard a huge explosion, which injured the teachers and killed the security guard. The bus was also extensively damaged,” Mohamed Abdulqadir Ali, principal of Yamays Secondary School, told Xinhua over telephone.
The seven teachers have been teaching in Yamays Secondary school located in the semi-autonomous region of Puntland.
Mohamed Hussein Aden, a local hospital director, told Xinhua that all the 14 injured people have been admitted to the hospital, and two of them are in a serious condition.
No group has claimed responsibility for the incident. The militant group Al Shabaab has, however, been suspected to be responsible for the attacks on foreigners in Somalia, including teachers.
There were no students in the bus since Friday is a day off in Somalia. It is not clear if the Kenyan teachers were being targeted in the attack.
Two journalists were injured two days ago in the same region in a grenade attack in a local radio station.
The Friday afternoon explosion comes a few hours after Al Shabaab attacked a government base in Baidoa, a city in southern Somalia, which killed five government soldiers and injured several others.