Militant Islamists have attacked a Somali military base and police station near the border with Kenya, killing eight soldiers.
An official, Mohamud Hayd Osman added that the al-Shabab militants rammed the base in Beled Hawa town with an explosives-packed vehicle, and then stormed it on foot.
Al-Shabab said it had killed 30 soldiers in the hit-and-run attack.
It has carried out a spate of attacks in Somalia and Kenya since launching an insurgency more than a decade ago.
The African Union has an 18,000-strong force helping the UN-backed Somali government tackle the militants.
According to reports, the assault on Beled Hawa also left dozens of civilians wounded.
The militants also blew up the police station and a phone mast, before retreating, Osman added.
