Suicide car bomber that killed 9 people in Somalia was targeting trucks with Puntland Marine Forces

Al-Shabaab Militants Behead a Man **GRAPHIC**.

 Alshabab claims the responsibility of the suicide attack in Basaso today

MOGADISHU, Somalia (AP) — A police official says a suicide car bomber, targeting two pick-up trucks carrying Puntland Marine Forces in northern Somalia, has killed nine people and wounded 37 others.

Saeed Abdi, a senior police officer in Somalia's semi-autonomous region of Puntland, said Thursday that a woman and child were among those who were killed in the blast in the region's commercial hub of Bossaso.

No one has yet to claim responsibility for the attack but Abdi blames it on the al-Qaida-linked insurgent group al-Shabab. Al-Shabab is trying to expand its influence in northern Somalia after it was pushed out of its strongholds in southern Somalia last year by African Union and Ethiopian forces. AU and Ethiopian forces are bolstering Somalia's weak western-backed government.

 My heartfelt condolences to the victims of today's horrific attack in semi-autonomous region of Puntland