MOGADISHU, Somalia

At least 4 soldiers were killed on Monday in a bombing in southern Somalia, a police official said.

"The attack was a remote-controlled landmine explosion and targeted security forces at the airport on the outskirts of Afmadow," Abdirahim Adan, a police officer in the Lower Juba region, told Anadolu Agency.

Somali-based al-Qaeda-affiliated group al-Shabaab claimed responsibility for the attack.

Afmadow is an agricultural town located 216 kilometers (134 miles) from the port city of Kismayo, the administrative capital of Jubaland State.