MOGADISHU, June 21 (Xinhua) -- At least one civilian was killed and four others injured in a grenade attack in Marka town in southern Somalia's Lower Shabelle region on Tuesday, a military officier said.
Abdishakur Ahmed, an army officer in Marka, told Xinhua the explosion targeted a military convoy, which was passing through the town, but hit civilians who were near the scene.
"The attack was targeting government soldiers traveling in a convoy in the town," said Ahmed.
An eyewitness told Xinhua there was a huge explosion followed by gunfire.
No group has claimed responsibility for the attack, but the Al-Shabaab Islamist group has in the past carried out similar attacks during the month of Ramadan.
Marka is a key coastal town in southern Somalia, lying south of the capital Mogadishu. The town was retaken by the Somali army and the African Union (AU) troops from Al-Shabaab militants in 2012.
Scores of people were killed during Ramadan last year in hotel attacks in Mogadishu, claimed by Al-Shabaab.
The AU troops in Somalia and the Somali forces have been battling Al-Shabaab in the past years, driving the militants to rural areas in the south, but the group still carries out periodic attacks in the country.
