MOGADISHU: A bomb killed up to five spectators at a football match in southern Somalia, police a lawmaker said on Friday, the first time an explosion has targeted a stadium. The blast went off in the port town of Barawe, in the Lower Shabelle region, when residents were watching a football match on Thursday afternoon, police said, adding that al Qaeda-linked al Shabaab could be behind the attack. Police said it appeared to have been detonated by remote control. “The bomb killed five people and injured a dozen others in the football field. All the casualties were from the onlookers,” they said. Shabaab are fighting to topple Somalia’s Western-backed central government and establish their own rule based on their strict interpretation of Islamic law. Published in Daily Times, April 14th 2018.