Witnesses said that one of three technicals was destroyed in the ambush, which comes as al-Shabaab turns to guerrilla tactics to halt government gains in the region.
"I have got the report of the attack, that's about all I can confirm to you now," a TFG official in Beled Hawo, Adan Bashir, told Somalia Report.
He did say the convoy was heading to resupply troops at a frontline near the village of Bursagar, where al-Shabaab and pro-TFG forces are dug in, when it was hit around 20 kilometers southwest of Beled Hawo.
Al-Shabaab website www.somalimemo.net confirmed the ambush and put the number of TFG soldiers dead at eight. The website claimed senior TFG landmine expert Gelle Farah was killed in the attack.
Government forces backed by militia, including moderate Islamist group Ahlu Sunna wal Jamaa, have seized control of the Gedo towns of Beled Hawo, Luq and El-Wak in recent months, and say they are planning assaults on other areas controlled by al-Shabaab. The militants have turned increasingly to mining roads and lightning attacks on government forces in response.