Somalia car bombing kills 5 at gate of regional government

MOGADISHU, Somalia (AP) — A police officer says a suicide bomber has detonated an explosives-laden vehicle at the gates of a regional government headquarters in Somalia, killing at least five people.

Abdisalam Yusuf says the bomber rammed the car into a checkpoint in Galkayo town Sunday morning after reaching the main gate of Puntland’s local government. Puntland, a semi-autonomous state in northern Somalia, controls the eastern part of the town, while the southern part is controlled by rival regional state Galkayo.

Yusuf said gunfire could be heard, but it was unclear if gunmen were involved in the attack.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attack. The town, unlike other parts of the country where the al-Qaida-linked al-Shabab group continues a deadly campaign, rarely sees such attacks.