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At least 10 Somali soldiers were killed and an unknown number wounded when ambushed them near a southern village, a military official and a family member said on Thursday.

The attack took place late Wednesday in a village near the town of Afgoye, some 30 kilometres from .

"The soldiers were travelling with two military vehicles when ambushed near Afgoye. More than 10 soldiers including the commander in charge were killed," said Colonel Mohamed Hassan, a military officer in Afgoye.

"We don't know about the wounded," but the army sent reinforcements to the site of the ambush, he added.

The Al Qaeda-linked Al Shabab group claimed the attack in statement carried by the SITE Intelligence Group.

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"Twenty-four governmental militia elements were killed, including three officers, and 32 others were wounded, military vehicles were destroyed, and military gear was captured as spoils," the group said.

A relative of one of those killed confirmed the incident.

"There was a senior commander who was a relative of mine killed in the attack and more than ten of his soldiers, it was a disaster which shocked our family," the relative Mohamed Ali told AFP.

Somalia plunged into chaos after the 1991 overthrow of then-President Siad Barre's military regime, leading to years of clan warfare followed by the rise of Al-Shabab, which once controlled large parts of the country and Mogadishu.

Al-Shabab was driven out of the capital in 2011, but its militants continue to wage war against the government, carrying out regular attacks.

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