Deadly truck explosion hits checkpoint in central Somali town

The death toll in a truck bomb explosion in the central Somali town of Beledweyne has risen to 18, a top regional official has said, as the Horn of Africa nation battles armed groups.

Abdirahman Dahir Gure, the interior minister of Hirshabelle state where Beledweyne is located, announced the latest toll on Saturday in the wake of the blast that targeted a security checkpoint in a residential area.