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A bomb exploded at a packed football stadium in southern Somalia and killed five spectators while wounding several others, police said on 12 April evening.
The Somalia-based, al-Qaida-linked al-Shabab extremist group immediately claimed responsibility for the explosion in the port town of Barawe. Witnesses said the bomb had been buried in the sandy stadium and went off during the local-level match.
Most of the eight people wounded were in a serious condition and were being treated at a local hospital, police colonel Abdirizak Ahmed told The Associated Press.
Barawe once was a key al-Shabab stronghold before Somali and African Union forces seized the town and drove out the extremists, who had banned sports activities in areas under their control. Al-Shabab still has a large presence in Lower Shabelle region and has carried out several attacks in the town.
A month before the October bombing Mogadishu celebrated its first nighttime football match in decades, with many residents calling it a step forward in a fragile recovery from decades of violent chaos.
The Horn of Africa nation continues to struggle to counter al-Shabab, which has been called the deadliest Islamic extremist group in sub-Saharan Africa. Concerns have been high over plans to hand over the country's security to Somalia's military as a 21,000-strong African Union force begins a withdrawal that is expected to be complete in 2020.
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