A policeman said that a vehicle bomb went off at a checkpoint in the Beledweyne town in central Somalia on Saturday, killing at least ten persons and demolishing nearby buildings.

Although attacks by the Islamist group Al Shabaab are common in Somalia, the culprits of this particular incident were not immediately identified.

According to policeman Ahmed Aden, who spoke to Reuters, “the death toll is sure to rise” because “so far I have seen 10 dead people, including soldiers and civilians, and over a dozen other injured.”

Police officer Ahmed Aden told Reuters, “I have seen 10 dead people so far, including soldiers and civilians, and more than a dozen others injured, but the death toll is sure to rise.”

Beledweyne is located in the Hiran region in central Somalia, the scene of recent clashes between the military and al Shabaab.

Five police officers who shot at the truck in an unsuccessful attempt to prevent it from slamming the checkpoint were among the deceased, according to Aden.

Along with the checkpoint, other structures like stores and buildings were destroyed, he added.

Halima Nur, a woman who lived close by, told Reuters that her niece and other people were at a local shop and were unable to be reached.

“I’m at a loss for words; all the kiosks are now nothing more than ruins. I’m unable to find my niece”, she said.

For more than ten years, Al Shabaab has fought against Somalia’s central government to impose a strict interpretation of Islamic sharia law as the basis for its authority.