Nine other people were wounded in several blasts that struck the building late on Tuesday in Belet Hawa, Ahmed Mohamed Barkus, a local Somali government official told Reuters by telephone. Belet Hawa lies just across the border from Kenya.

The identity of the attackers was unclear, Barkus said, but the bombing took place just days after two Italian nuns and a Kenyan driver were kidnapped by Somali gunmen from the nearby border town of El Wak. Elders are negotiating for their release.

Agencies