Eight soldiers have been killed in Somalia and a further three are injured after a roadside bomb attack in a remote town in the semi-autonomous state of Puntland.
Police official Ahmed Mohamed told the Associated Press that Sunday’s blast targeted a military convoy in Galgala.
Security forces have been battling Islamic State (IS) fighters in the region.
The al-Qaida-linked al-Shabab extremist group claimed responsibility for the blast.
IS-linked extremists also have carried out such attacks in the past.
Fighters affiliated with IS are a relatively new and growing threat in Somalia, where al-Shabab has been entrenched for years.