BOSSASO (SD) -Reports from Coastal city Bossaso, the capital of Bari Region, confirm a landmine attack targeting a Puntland President Said Deni, as they were entering Bossaso.

According to the reports, the explosion took place at a Bossaso checkpoint, and one of the vehicles escorting the Puntland President was wrecked by the explosion.

In a released press statement, Al-Shabaab militants have claimed responsibility for planning and executing the attack against the Puntland President and his security forces.

The President and other officials accompanying him have survived the blast, but two of the President’s security detail died at the scene, and many other passengers in these cars were badly injured.

The IED by Al-Shabaab came at a time when the Puntland President was traveling to Bossaso to initiate the launching of the parliamentary elections in the region. The elections period in Somalia has been menacing and intense.