“At 9:10 a.m., a terrorist car loaded with explosives … ran into a checkpoint near the Sayidka intersection. Security forces opened fire on the car as they headed for the Mogadishu Presidential Palace “, it was said in a police statement.
Police said the suicide bomber also died in the blast.
“Thank God, security forces surveillance has saved the people from the threat of terrorism for the innocent Somali people,” the statement added.
There were no immediate claims of responsibility for the attack in the midst of a political crisis in Somalia after the term of the country’s president, Mohamed Abdullahi Farmajo, expired on February 8 without a one-off election.
Saturday’s incident was the second major explosion in the Somali capital in recent weeks.
Al-Shabaab claimed responsibility for the attack in a statement issued by Andalus Radio, its spokesman. CNN has not been able to verify this claim independently.
The insurgent group seeks to turn Somalia into a fundamentalist Islamic state. He has previously claimed responsibility for other attacks in Mogadishu, including a truck bomb in December that killed 85 people.