Azernews.Az

At least eight people including six children were killed on Sunday when the modified auto-rickshaw they were travelling in struck a landmine, said local officials, Azernews reports, citing Anadolu Agency.

The incident took place between the village of Jicibow and town of Bulaburde in Hirshabelle state.

Ibrahim Abdi Ali, a security official in the town of Jowhar, the administrative capital of the state, who spoke to Anadolu by phone, said the victims were two families traveling together in the same auto-rickshaw to their farms.

“A father, a mother and six children from two families were tragically killed today by a landmine that the terrorist (group) al-Shabaab planted near the road. It is heartbreaking and tragic to even talk about this,” he said.

He said those who committed this crime against unarmed civilians will not go unpunished.

Bulaburde is located 220 kilometers (136 miles) from the nation’s capital, Mogadishu.

Although local officials blamed al-Shabaab for being behind the roadside bombing, no group has claimed responsibility so far.

The incident comes as the Somali National Army backed by the country’s international security partners conducted ground and aerial operations against al-Shabaab on Sunday, killing over 40 terrorists, including ringleaders.

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