At least five people were killed and 11 others were injuredincluding a district governor, in suicide attack that occurred earlier today in the Southwest Somaliaa police spokesman told Agence France-Presse (AFP).

The Shebab jihadist group, which frequently launches bombings in the impoverished Horn of Africa country, claimed responsibility for the massacre.

The suicide bomber drove a car rigged with explosives outside a compound in Baardere where government officials were staying, Hussein Adan, police commander in Gendo district, 450 kilometers west of the capital Mogadishu, told AFP. Among the officials at the scene at the time of the attack were regional governor Ahmed Boule Gared and military commanders, he added. “The explosion destroyed most of the building and five security officers were killed,” continued Adan, adding that the governor of Gendo was among the 11 injured.

The explosion was so powerful that some believed it was an earthquake.

The Shebab jihadist organization has been waging a guerrilla war against the federal government since 2007, which is supported by the international community. Although its fighters were driven out in 2011 from the country’s main cities, including the capital Mogadishu, it has established a presence in several rural areas.

President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud, who returned to power in May 2022, has vowed to launch “all-out war” against Shebab. However, the jihadist group continues to launch bloody attacks, underscoring that it retains the ability to strike at the heart of cities and military installations in Somalia.

On October 29, 2022, two car bombs exploded in the capital Mogadishu, killing 121 people and injuring 333. It was the deadliest terrorist attack in five years in Somalia, which is also suffering from a historic drought.

Last month, the UN said 2022 saw the highest number of civilian deaths in the violence-torn east African country, looking back on figures from the previous five years.