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Al-Shabab is claiming responsibility for two car bombs in Hiraan after it was pushed out of the region.

Armed al-Shabab fighters ride on pickup trucks outside the capital Mogadishu. 

At least 15 people have been killed in two car bomb blasts in central Somalia’s Hiraan region, according to officials and witnesses, with a resident involved in the rescue operations saying the dead included soldiers, militiamen and civilians. 

The al-Shabab armed group claimed responsibility for the deadly attack in the town of Mahas on Wednesday. Security officials and local leaders said two military bases were targeted in Mahas. 

It is the latest in a string of attacks launched by the al-Qaeda-affiliated group since government forces and allied clan militias pushed out the fighters from the territory they controlled in operations launched last year. 

“I have counted 15 dead people including soldiers, militiamen and civilians. Dozens were wounded,” said Abdullahi Osman, a shopkeeper in Mahas town. 

“Dozens were wounded. Many houses were destroyed. Fragments of the bombs injured people far from the site. The death toll may rise,” he told Reuters news agency. There were varying accounts of casualty figures from local militiamen and officials. Al Jazeera could not independently verify the death toll figures. — Al Jazeera