At least 10 people died when two suicide car bombs rocked a government building in Somalia on Sunday, authorities said.
Most of the fatalities are students and local traders who were at a nearby market and school at the time of the blasts, police said.
Following the explosions in Galkayo town, attackers stormed the building and exchanged gunfire with security forces, according to local police official Abdi Hassan.
The attack targeted a government compound housing administrative offices, police said. Northern Galkayo is under Puntland control in a semi-autonomous region in northeast Somalia.
Troubling trend
The attack follows a similar pattern of bombings in the country, claimed by terrorist group Al-Shabaab.
In late July, six people died after double suicide car bombs in Mogadishu.
Just days prior, suicide bombers detonated two vehicles laden with explosives near the capital’s Aden Adde International Airport, killing at least 12.
In June, the group also claimed separate attacks on two hotels popular with Somali politicians, which killed over two dozen people.