Jihadists have attacked a military base where US soldiers train commandos in Somalia, causing casualties, reports say.

Local residents reported heavy blasts and gunfire at Baledogle airport in the southern Lower Shabelle region.

A website sympathetic to the Islamist movement al-Shabab said the group used a car bomb to blast through the gates before sending its fighters inside.

Military officials say the jihadists have been pushed back.

Separately, Ansa news agency reported that an Italian military convoy had been attacked in the capital Mogadishu.