One person dies as Puntland soldiers clash with Al-Shabaab in Bossaso

At least one person was killed and three others injured after Al-Shabab fighters clashed with  guards of former Puntland head of taxation department in the Gulf of Aden port city of Bossaso on Friday evening.

The fighting flared up after the fighters attacked the soldiers with hand grenade and prompted fifteen minutes firefight, according witnesses.

Al Shabaab group has claimed credit for attack on the soldiers.

Al Shabaab operations spokesperson Abdiazis Abu Muscab said militants from the terrorist group hurled hand grenade at soldiers of Puntland and engaged gun battle with them, saying the fighters wounded four soldiers.

Al-Qaeda-linked extremist group al-Shabab is battling the UN-backed government in Somalia, and has carried out a string of attacks in Puntland.

The group has been pushed out of most of the main towns, it once controlled, but it remains a potent threat.

It has been targeting key government and security figures in the country, trying to overthrow the government in the capital, Mogadishu.