25 killed in Somalia car bomb attack

At least 25 people were killed and several others sustained injuries in a huge car bomb attack in the suburbs of the Somali capital here on Saturday, said an official.

Government spokesman Ismael Mukhtar Omar said that a suicide bomber detonated a car bomb at a security checkpoint on Afgoye road on the outskirts of Mogadishu, Xinhua news agency reported.

"I can confirm more than 25 people were killed in the attack," Omar said as emergency services rushed to the scene to take the injured to hospitals, adding that among the dead were several students.

An unnamed police officer at the scene said the huge blast was targeted at a tax office on the road.

"As officials were checking cars passing the road, a car suddenly exploded, causing casualties and damage," Omar said.

Eyewitnesses told Xinhua that they had heard a heavy blast near the tax office.

There is no immediate claim of responsibility for the blast, but the Islamist militant group al Shabaab has conducted such attacks in the past.

On December 10, at least four people were killed and six others injured when al Shabaab militants stormed a popular hotel in Mogadishu.