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Somalia: Explosions Rock Two Major Cities as 4 Killed in Baidoa

A Somali soldier stands at the scene of a suicide car bomb near the port in Mogadishu, Somalia Saturday, July 4, 2020. Explosions rocked two of Somalia's largest cities on Saturday as officials said a suicide car bomber detonated near the port in Mogadishu and a land mine was detonated by remote control as people were dining in a restaurant on the outskirts of Baidoa. (AP Photo/Farah Abdi Warsameh)
A Somali soldier stands at the scene of a suicide car bomb near the port in Mogadishu, Somalia Saturday, July 4, 2020. Explosions rocked two of Somalia's largest cities on Saturday as officials said a suicide car bomber detonated near the port in Mogadishu and a land mine was detonated by remote control as people were dining in a restaurant on the outskirts of Baidoa. (AP Photo/Farah Abdi Warsameh)
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Somalia: Explosions Rock Two Major Cities as 4 Killed in Baidoa

A Somali soldier stands at the scene of a suicide car bomb near the port in Mogadishu, Somalia Saturday, July 4, 2020. Explosions rocked two of Somalia's largest cities on Saturday as officials said a suicide car bomber detonated near the port in Mogadishu and a land mine was detonated by remote control as people were dining in a restaurant on the outskirts of Baidoa. (AP Photo/Farah Abdi Warsameh)
A Somali soldier stands at the scene of a suicide car bomb near the port in Mogadishu, Somalia Saturday, July 4, 2020. Explosions rocked two of Somalia's largest cities on Saturday as officials said a suicide car bomber detonated near the port in Mogadishu and a land mine was detonated by remote control as people were dining in a restaurant on the outskirts of Baidoa. (AP Photo/Farah Abdi Warsameh)

Explosions rocked two of Somalia's largest cities on Saturday as officials said a suicide car bomber detonated near the port in Mogadishu and a land mine in a restaurant on the outskirts of Baidoa killed four people.

Ali Abdullahi, an official with the Southwestern regional state told The Associated Press (AP) that the mine was detonated by remote control as people were dining during the morning rush.

Several others were wounded, he noted.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility, but the al-Qaeda-linked al-Shabab group has targeted the city in the past.

Ahmed Ali said the car bomber detonated near the gates of the motor vehicle imports duty authority headquarters.

The bomber sped through the first security checkpoint before police officers opened fire at the vehicle which exploded outside the gates, Ismail Mukhtar, spokesman for Somalia’s information ministry, told the AP.

Five police officers were wounded, said Sadik Aden Ali, spokesman for Somalia’s police force.

Since 2008, the extremist militant group al Shabaab has been fighting to overthrow the central government in Somalia and establish its own rule, Reuters reported.

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Taiwan Detects 41 Chinese Military Aircraft, Ships ahead of Lai US Stopover

FILE -In this photo released by Xinhua News Agency, a J-15 Chinese fighter jet prepares to take off from the Shandong aircraft carrier during the combat readiness patrol and military exercises around the Taiwan Island by the Eastern Theater Command of the Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) on Sunday, April 9, 2023. (An Ni/Xinhua via AP, File)
FILE -In this photo released by Xinhua News Agency, a J-15 Chinese fighter jet prepares to take off from the Shandong aircraft carrier during the combat readiness patrol and military exercises around the Taiwan Island by the Eastern Theater Command of the Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) on Sunday, April 9, 2023. (An Ni/Xinhua via AP, File)
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Taiwan Detects 41 Chinese Military Aircraft, Ships ahead of Lai US Stopover

FILE -In this photo released by Xinhua News Agency, a J-15 Chinese fighter jet prepares to take off from the Shandong aircraft carrier during the combat readiness patrol and military exercises around the Taiwan Island by the Eastern Theater Command of the Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) on Sunday, April 9, 2023. (An Ni/Xinhua via AP, File)
FILE -In this photo released by Xinhua News Agency, a J-15 Chinese fighter jet prepares to take off from the Shandong aircraft carrier during the combat readiness patrol and military exercises around the Taiwan Island by the Eastern Theater Command of the Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) on Sunday, April 9, 2023. (An Ni/Xinhua via AP, File)

Taiwan said Friday it detected 41 Chinese military aircraft and ships around the island ahead of a Hawaii stopover by President Lai Ching-te, part of a Pacific tour that has sparked fury in Beijing.
Beijing insists self-ruled Taiwan is part of its territory and opposes any international recognition of the island and its claim to be a sovereign nation.
To press its claims, China deploys fighter jets, drones and warships around Taiwan on a near-daily basis, with the number of sorties increasing in recent years.
In the 24 hours to 6:00 am on Friday (2200 GMT Thursday), Taiwan's defense ministry said it had detected 33 Chinese aircraft and eight navy vessels in its airspace and waters.
That included 19 aircraft that took part in China's "joint combat readiness patrol" on Thursday evening and was the highest number in more than three weeks, according to an AFP tally of figures released daily by the ministry.
Taiwan also spotted a balloon -- the fourth since Sunday -- about 172 kilometres (107 miles) west of the island.
"It can't be ruled out that there will be a relatively large-scale military exercise in response to Lai's visit," Su Tzu-yun, a military expert at Taiwan's Institute for National Defense and Security Research, told AFP.
'Old friends'
Lai, an outspoken defender of Taiwan's sovereignty and whom China calls a "separatist", departs Saturday on his first overseas trip since taking office in May.
He will stop briefly in Hawaii and the US territory of Guam to meet "old friends", as he visits Taiwan's three remaining allies in the Pacific.
Taiwanese government officials have previously stopped over on US soil during visits to the Pacific or Latin America, angering China, which has sometimes responded with military drills around the island.
China has reacted furiously to Lai's planned trip, with a spokesperson for the defense ministry vowing Thursday to "resolutely crush" any attempts for Taiwan independence.
Asked whether China's military would take countermeasures over Lai's Pacific tour, Wu Qian said: "We firmly oppose official interaction with China's Taiwan region in any form."
China has staged two large-scale military drills around Taiwan since Lai took office and verbally attacked him at every turn over his statements and speeches.
Lin Ying-yu, a military expert at Tamkang University, said China's response would be determined by Lai's remarks during the trip.
"China may carry out military exercises, but they may not be large ones. It will depend on what President Lai says," Lin told AFP, adding the current weather was "not very good" for drills.
'Legitimacy'
The South Pacific was once seen as a bastion of support for Taiwan's claim to statehood, but China has methodically whittled this down.
In the past five years, Solomon Islands, Kiribati and Nauru have all been persuaded to switch diplomatic recognition from Taipei to Beijing.
The Marshall Islands, Tuvalu and Palau are now the only Pacific island nations among Taiwan's 12 remaining diplomatic allies.
Beijing's efforts to woo Taiwan's allies and expand its influence in the region have alarmed the United States, Australia and New Zealand.
Switching recognition to China "opened the door to much deeper engagement between Beijing and those countries," said Mark Harrison, a senior lecturer in Chinese studies at the University of Tasmania.
Lai's trip was a rare opportunity for the president to represent Taiwan abroad and bolster its claim to statehood.
"Even though they kind of look theatrical and performative, (these trips) actually give Taiwan a genuine voice in the international system," Harrision told AFP.
"They confer legitimacy, they confer the appearance of sovereignty and, with the international system as it is, the appearance of sovereignty is also sovereignty."