Defense officials in Somalia say a roadside bomb in the country's semi-autonomous northern region has killed a senior army officer and at least two other people.
Officials in the self-declared state of Somaliland said Sunday that a remote-controlled bomb killed a Somaliland infantry division commander, Osman Yusuf.
The attack took place in the town of Lascanood, which both Somaliland and Puntland lay claim to.
Long-standing land disputes between the neighboring Somali states have simmered for years.
The blast comes only days after the southern Somali-based Islamist group al-Shabab threatened to attack Somaliland as well as the capitals of Burundi and Uganda, the two nations supplying troops for the African Union peacekeeping force in troubled Somalia.
