Police in Somalia say two suicide car bombers killed at least 10 people early Wednesday when they targeted a military facility in a region at the heart of the government’s offensive against al-Shabab extremists. 

The attack occurred in the Mahaas district of Hiran region after the dawn prayer. “It was loud and heard all across the town,” resident Osman Abdullahi told The Associated Press. “I have rescued several people wounded in the attack, including soldiers and journalists who were embedded with soldiers.” 

Police official Mahad Abdulle told the AP the vehicles exploded in a neighborhood full of civilians and that at least 10 people were killed. 

Al-Shabab claimed responsibility for the attack. 

Mahaas is at the center of the ongoing government offensive against al-Shabab, the al-Qaida-linked group of thousands of fighters that has controlled parts of central and southern Somalia for years. The government has vowed to defeat it this year. 

The Somali army, together with local militias, recently opened a key supply route to Mahaas after it had long been under siege. 
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