A bomb blast in a market in the strategic Somali town of Baidoa yesterday killed at least 11 people and wounded many more in the latest in a string of attacks in the war-torn nation, an official said.

“At least 11 people – most of them women and children – were killed by a bomb placed in a busy market,” said lawmaker Mohamed Ibrahim Habsade.

The attack was the worst in Baidoa since the town was wrested from Al-Qaeda allied Shebab insurgents by Ethiopian-backed Somali forces in February.

“Many more were injured in the explosion, which was biggest since we took control of the town,” Habsade said.

Witnesses said the bomb was detonated after Somali government troops entered the market, but that the majority of those killed were civilians.

“This was a disaster,” said Adan Hassan, a witness. “I saw several dead bodies of at least nine civilians, most of them women – the explosion occurred as people were shopping.”

“Around 35 people were injured, some of them seriously,” said Abdirahman Waney, another witness.

Baidoa, located 250 kilometres northwest of Mogadishu, was the seat of Somalia’s transitional parliament until the hardline Shebab captured it three years ago.