Deadly Explosion In South Somalia: 27 Dead And 53 Injured

JAKARTA - At least 27 people were killed and 53 others injured when a intact explosive device exploded near the southern Somali city of Qoryloey, Somali National News Agency (SONNA) reported on Friday.

Earlier, China's Xinhua news agency citing local authorities reported that at least 25 were children aged between 10-15 years. Investigations are currently underway.

A resident in the city told the AFP news agency that the explosion occurred near a children's playground. The majority of the victims were children, who died instantly when one of them triggered the explosive device.

According to AFP, a number of explosives were scattered in the area as a result of the operation of the Al-Shabaab terrorist group, quoted by ANTARA, Saturday, June 10.

In 2004, the fundamentalist group jihad Al-Shabaab was formed in Somalia. Since 2008, the militant group has carried out terrorist attacks involving suicide bombings and car explosives.

The group once controlled large parts of the country, but in 2011 government forces eradicated it from the capital Mogadishu, and the group turned the way from an open confrontation to a guerrilla war against the government and its allies.

In 2012 one of the leaders of Al-Shabaab said the group joined the Al-Qaida terrorist network. The total number of Al-Shabaab militants is estimated at around 10,000.