At least five people were killed, including a district commissioner, when an improvised explosive device targeted their vehicle near the Somali-Kenyan border Wednesday.

Guled Abdirahman, a police official in Lower Juba region, told Anadolu Agency by phone that the roadside bombing also wounded several others.

"A landmine targeted a vehicle carrying Ras Kamboni district commissioner Abdullahi Diriye. Diriye, three of his bodyguards and his driver were killed in the attack,” Abdirahman said.

Ras Kamboni is located around 274 kilometers (170 miles) south of the port city of Kismayo, the administrative capital of Jubaland State.

The Somali-based al-Qaeda affiliated group al-Shabaab claimed responsibility for the attack.

The group also claimed responsibility for a suicide bombing in the capital Mogadishu on Wednesday, saying it had killed nine government soldiers and wounded more than 24 others.