At least 5 killed in car bomb attack in Somali capital

At least five people have been killed and four wounded in a car bomb blast claimed by al Qaeda-linked group al Shabaab close to the president’s residence in the Somali capital, Mogadishu.

A second explosion followed but the cause has yet to be determined, police say.

Al Shabaab, in comments broadcast on its Radio Andalus, claimed responsibility for both blasts and said the second was also a car bomb targeting those who had responded to the first.

"The first suicide car bomb at the checkpoint killed five people mostly security soldiers. Four others were injured. The death toll may rise. It is too early to have details of the second blast," Major Mohamed Hussein said.

Ahmed Abdi, another police officer, said the car bomb exploded at a checkpoint some 400 meters from the president’s residence.

Al Shabaab carries out frequent attacks in Mogadishu. Its members want to dislodge the government and impose its rule based on its own strict interpretation of Islam’s sharia law.