4 killed after bomb-laden car explodes in Mogadishu

Four people were killed while 12 others were wounded after an explosives-laden car detonated here on Wednesday.

"The blast happened in a traffic area at a police checkpoint, so far we can confirm four people died in the explosion. We are establishing more details on the incident," a police officer told Xinhua.

The responsibility for the attack has been claimed by Al-Qaida-allied terrorist group Al-Shabab. The car exploded when the police were checking vehicles in Mogadishu's Bondhere District.

A Somali military officer and her bodyguards are amongst those feared dead, the unnamed police officer added.

This latest attack comes just four days after another car filled with explosives went off at Mogadishu's Hamarweyne District. However, no casualties were reported in the incident.

The terrorist group is responsible for a string of attacks in Somalia which have claimed the lives of scores of people. At least 10 people lost their lives and dozens were injured when a car bomb exploded at a crowded mall in the business district of Hamarweyne here in February.