MOGADISHU, Jan. 3 (Xinhua) -- Unidentified airstrike targeted suspected Al-Shabaab militant on a minibus near Bariiri location about 45 kilometers south of the capital Mogadishu on Tuesday, officials said on Wednesday.

Hassan Nor Mohamed, Deputy Governor of Lower Shabelle region for Security Affairs, confirmed the attack, saying the vehicle was completely destroyed and the suspected militant died on the spot.

"We have the ground information that suspected Al-Shabaab militant on luxury vehicle was killed by an airstrike near Bariiri area in this region on Tuesday, we cannot tell who but those who carried out the strike would know him," Mohamed said.

He added that such operation is part of the recent military operations against the militant group of Al-Shabaab in the region. The minibus was traveling on the outskirts of the Al-Shabaab-controlled Awdhegle region.

Residents said the car which was ferrying about ten people was laden with explosives heading towards the capital when it was destroyed by the airstrike.

The occupants in the car could not be immediately established. The militants behind a series of attacks in the Horn of Africa nation have not released a statement on the latest strike, the first in 2018.

The United States military has conducted about 30 strikes against Islamist militants in 2017, killing several insurgents and injuring others.