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Car bomb kills at least 12 people in Somalia - police


    MOGADISHU (Reuters) - At least 12 people including Somali government soldiers and civilians were killed by an explosion near a cafe in the south central town of Baidoa on Monday, police said.

    Baidoa was once considered the most important city for al Qaeda-linked rebels, after the port of Kismayu, before they were routed by Ethiopian troops in 2012. The town is about 250 km (150 miles) to southwest of the capital Mogadishu.

    "A car bomb killed 12 people including government forces and residents," Captain Nur Aden, a police officer, told Reuters by telephone from Baidoa.

    (Reporting by Abdi Sheikh; Writing by James Macharia/Mark Heinrich)