Eight soldiers dead in blast outside Somali army base

A Somali police officer says at least eight soldiers are dead and more than 14 others wounded after a suicide bomber detonated an explosives-laden vehicle at the gates of a military base in Somalia's capital.

Capt. Mohamed Hussein says the toll is expected to rise.

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Police Col. Ahmed Muse says the bomber struck the 12th April Army Brigade base near the newly reopened sports stadium in Warta-Nabadda district.

Witnesses say ambulance sirens can be heard as police cordon off the scene. Huge clouds of smoke are billowing.

The Al Qaeda-linked Al Shabab extremist group often targets military sites in Mogadishu.