Two Ethiopian soldiers were killed Monday in a roadside bomb explosion in southern Somalia, prompting their colleagues to open fire and killing six civilians, witnesses said.

The soldiers were checking for mines on their way to the provincial town of Baidoa from the capital Mogadishu when the bomb went off in Wanlaweyn town north of Mogadishu, they said.

"A roadside bomb killed two Ethiopian soldiers as they were walking and checking for mines inside the town," said Mohamed Wardhere Adan, an elder.

"They opened fire indiscriminately after the explosion, killing six innocent civilians, including a woman," he added.

Another witness Hussein Shibelow said: "We don't know who planted it. The Ethiopians entered a neighbourhood near where the explosion occured, punishing civilians."

"I saw the bodies of four men, a woman and a child shot by the Ethiopians," he told AFP.

Roadside bombs are common in Somalia, where Islamist fighters are battling Ethiopian forces who backed government troops to oust an their movement in early 2007.

The Islamists also targeted government forces and African Union peacekeepers in Mogadishu.

Somalia has been shattered by deadly conflicts which have defied numerous attempt to restore peace since the 1991 ouster of dictator Mohamed Siad Bare.

Source: AFP

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