Al-Shabaab kills US-trained soldiers in ambush in southern Somalia

Terrorists killed at least five soldiers, including members of the US-trained Somali special forces known as Danab, in southern Somalia, a government official said on Sunday.

Heavily armed members of Islamist terrorist group al-Shabaab attacked a military convoy near the village of Tihsile, some 37 kilometres outside of Mogadishu, early on Sunday, regional government official Abdulkadir Sidii told dpa.

The convoy was first hit by a massive roadside bomb and then ambushed by a group of insurgents, Sidii said.

Seven other soldiers were injured during the attack, while four terrorists were killed as well, according to Sidii, who had been part of the convoy.

Al-Shabaab, which has ties to al-Qaeda, claimed responsibility for the attack on pro-insurgent radio station Andalus, saying it killed at least 10 Somali soldiers.

The main target of the attack had been the commander of Danab, al-Shabaab said, with Sidii confirming that the commander had been wounded critically, but was alive.

Al-Shabaab regularly launches attacks on government officials, soldiers, journalists, prominent businessmen as well as civilians in the volatile nation in the Horn of Africa.