MOGADISHU, Somalia (AP) — A Somali police officer says a suicide car bomber hit an African Union army base in central Somalia Tuesday.

Ahmed Ali said the bomber detonated an explosives-laden vehicle at the gates of a base of soldiers from Djibouti in Beledweyne town.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attack, however Somalia's Islamic extremist rebels, al-Shabab, often carry out such assaults.

Despite being ousted from major strongholds across Somalia, al-Shabab, which is allied to al-Qaida, has recently been attacking military positions of Somali and African Union troops bolstering Somalia's government.