Authorities in Somalia say a land mine explosion has killed a Mogadishu official and at least three other people in an attack north of the capital.

Authorities say the deputy district commissioner of Mogadishu's northern Yaqshid district was traveling through the capital Saturday when the land mine ripped through his vehicle. They say the blast also killed at least three security guards who were riding with the commissioner.

In a separate attack, Islamist insurgents say they ambushed a convoy of Ethiopian troops allied to the Somali government Saturday.

An insurgent spokesman says his fighters destroyed at least three military vehicles in a fierce clash with troops near Somalia's border with Ethiopia. The number of casualties was not immediately known.

There was no immediate confirmation of the attack from Somali or Ethiopian officials.

Ethiopian troops entered Somalia two years ago to help the interim government fight an Islamist movement that was threatening to take over the country.

Fighting since then has killed thousands of Somalis and displaced more than a million others.

Somalia has been continuously torn by conflict since the fall of the last stable government in 1991.

Some information for this report was provided by AFP, AP and Reuters.