The explosion rocked the town of Baidoa, 250km northwest of Mogadishu, midday Saturday.

Ethiopian soldiers detained "several people" suspected of being responsible for the attack, according to sources in Baidoa.

A doctor at the local hospital confirmed to Garowe Online that a total of nine people with gunshot and shrapnel wounds were admitted today.

Meanwhile, suspected insurgents attacked a government checkpoint 30km northeast of Beletwein, the provincial capital of Hiran region.

At least one soldier was killed and two others wounded the battle, local sources reported.

Residents in Ba'da village, where the armed clash took place, said the anti-government groups gained control of the town "for hours."

But the armed groups left voluntarily after the regional government deployed armed reinforcements to the area.

Hiran regional officials declined to comment on the latest skirmish, but today's clash follows the takeover of an entire district from government forces last week.

Residents in Hiran's Bulo Burte district said clan fighters, not Islamist-linked insurgents, expelled government forces from the district over a tax dispute.

But the Bulo Burte administration has since returned to the district after negotiations with local clan elders, sources said.

Many Somalis fear the bloody insurgency in the capital Mogadishu is gradually spreading to other regions, as Islamists continue to face a heavy-handed government crackdown on their Mogadishu hideouts.

Source: Garowe Online

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