Since the U.S. forces were pulled out of the country last year under the order of former President Donald Trump, there have been fewer airstrikes in the country.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the bombing, but police pointed the finger of the blame at Al-Shabaab, which is fighting against the UN-backed Somali government.

Al-Shabab terror group claimed responsibility for the attack, saying it targeted a convoy of vehicles escorting the police commander

These lawmakers will now vote for a new president on Sunday, with incumbent Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed, two of his predecessors, and an ex-prime minister among more than a dozen hopefuls.

Most of the hopefuls are from the opposition who want to unseat the incumbent who stayed in power beyond his four-year mandate after 15 months of illegal extension that led to street clashes in 2021.

Deni's slim plan, however, is to back either former President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud or Abdirahman Abdishakur Warsame, whoever comes forward in the second round of the voting, to get the PM post.

The presidential candidates have been informed that they will leave their security escorts at Halane’s Madina gate, where VIP cars will be ready to take them to the Afisyoni hangar under AU troops’ protection.

According to a joint parliamentary committee tasked with organizing the election, the registration began on Sunday and will go on until Tuesday to give a chance to the remaining candidates, including Said Deni.

Commander of SNA’s 16th Danab Unit Mohamed Abdukadir Ali told reporters in Mogadishu, the capital of Somalia, that the forces carried out the operation in several areas in the Lower Shabelle region.

Burundi state television said 25 other soldiers were wounded in the raid on a camp near the village of El Baraf in central Somalia, while 20 al-Shabaab terrorists were also killed.

The election is marred by vote-buying and massive fraud comes as the country is facing a severe drought that put nearly half of the population [12 million] at risk of famine after three years of failed rains.

The statement says the El-Wak MPs are the legitimate representatives of the Gedo region in the 11th Federal Parliament inaugurated on April 14 in Mogadishu, the Somali capital.