A car bomb exploded near a police station in Somalia's capital, Mogadishu, killing at least six people and wounding another 13, police and witnesses said.

The bomb detonated as the car was driving in the busy Maka al-Mukaram road.

"The death toll may rise. Most of the injured ones are very serious," police officer, Mohamed Hussein, told Reuters news agency.

Rescue workers and civilians carried bloodied bodies and injured victims to hospitals.

Photojournalist Abdirizak Mohamud Tuuryare was at the scene.

"I saw bodies of five people, including women," he told Al Jazeera.

The blast occurred amid a traffic jam while soldiers were searching cars at a nearby intersection.

Most of the victims are civilians.

The exact target of the blast remains unclear.

No group has claimed responsibility for the apparent attack.

Somalia's Prime Minister Hassan Ali Khaire said no such blast had taken place in the capital for a month.</s>A car bomb blast near a police station in Somalia's capital on Sunday killed at least five people and wounded at least 13 others, police said.

The explosion shattered a month of relative calm in Mogadishu, often a target of the extremist group al-Shabab.

The blast near Waberi police station along the busy Maka Almukarramah road may have been a suicide bomber, Capt. Mohamed Hussein told The Associated Press.

The al-Qaida-linked al-Shabab often carries out deadly bombings in Mogadishu against high-profile targets such as hotels and checkpoints.

Most of the victims Sunday were civilians.

The exact target of the blast remained unclear. The blast occurred amid a traffic jam while soldiers were searching cars at a nearby intersection.

Somalia's Prime Minister Hassan Ali Khaire said no such blast had occurred in the capital for a month.

At the blast scene, rescue workers and civilians carried bloodied bodies and injured victims to hospitals.</s>A Somali soldier stands on guard next to a destroyed car near a popular mall after a car bomb attack in Mogadishu, Somalia, Sunday, July 30, 2017. (AAP)

At least six people were killed and ten others injured when a car bomb exploded in Somalia's capital, Mogadishu.

A car bomb explosion in the Somali capital Mogadishu has killed six and wounded 20 others, with the death toll likely to rise.

The bomb went off on the busy Maka al Mukaram road on Sunday, police said, while a witness said the blast was followed by big clouds of smoke visible in sky.

"So far we know six civilians died and 20 others were injured. They were mostly pedestrians while others were shopping," the police officer said.

"Death toll may rise. Most of the injured ones are very serious," said Major Mohamed Hussein, a police officer.

Earlier, a Reuters reporter at the scene of the blast had counted four bodies lying on the ground. Photographs showed three destroyed cars on the road, with two still burning.

It was not clear who was responsible for the blast.</s>MOGADISHU, Somalia — A car bomb exploded near a police station in Somalia’s capital, Mogadishu, on Sunday, killing at least six people and wounding at least 13 others, according to a police captain.

Capt. Mohamed Hussein said the explosion, near Waberi police station along the busy Maka Almukarramah road, might have been the work of a suicide bomber.

Abdifitah Omar Halane, an official in the Banadir region, where the blast occurred, said at least four people had been killed and six others wounded, but local media reports and witnesses put the death toll much higher.

Most of the victims were civilians, the police said, but the exact target of the blast was not immediately clear.

Abdi Ali Shire, a Somali media trainer who was about 100 meters, or 328 feet, away from the explosion, said the bomb went off in front of the Midnimo Supermarket among dozens of vehicles that were lined up, and some cars driving on the road. He was not hurt in the blast.

He said that he saw about four people burning alive, and that more than a dozen might have been killed in the attack.

The blast sent thick smoke and flames into the sky, and set several cars on fire, he added.

Mogadishu has been relatively calm in recent days, after the government of Somalia began a security operation in the city. But episodes of violence have erupted. On Wednesday, at least six government soldiers were killed.</s>At least five people have been killed and 13 others injured in a car bomb blast near a police station in Somalia's capital Mogadishu.

The explosion shattered a month of relative calm in the city, which is often a target of the extremist group al-Shabab.

The blast near Waberi police station along the busy Maka Almukarramah road may have been a suicide bomber, police chief Mohamed Hussein said.

Burning vehicles outside Midnimo mall after a car bomb attack on a popular mall in Mogadishu, Somalia. Photo: AP Photo/Farah Abdi Warsameh

The al-Qaida-linked al-Shabab often carries out deadly bombings in Mogadishu against high-profile targets such as hotels and checkpoints.

Most of the victims of the latest attack were civilians.

The exact target of the blast is unclear, but it occurred amid a traffic jam while soldiers were searching cars at a nearby intersection.

Somali prime minister Hassan Ali Khaire said no such blast had occurred in the capital for a month.

At the blast scene, rescue workers and civilians carried bloodied bodies and injured victims to hospitals.</s>MOGADISHU, Somalia (AP) — Car bomb blast near police station in Somalia’s capital kills at least 5, wounds several.</s>At least 6 people have been killed and around 13 wounded in a car bomb blast in Somalia's capital of Mogadishu on Sunday. The explosion was described by Reuters as "huge."RT spoke to a local journalist, Yahye Young from Mogadishu's Mustaqbal Radio, who said he witnessed first-hand eight dead people strewn across the area where the bomb detonated.Police have said, however, that the number of casualties is likely to rise.Photographs and videos shared on social media show the immediate aftermath of the blast, with a burning car visible on the street. One dramatic video shows people carrying the injured away from the scene of the blast.The blast occurred in the city's the busy area of Maka al Mukarramah Road, located near the Waberi police station.No one as yet has claimed responsibility for the attack.However, Al-Qaeda-linked Al-Shabaab has carried out a spate of bloody suicide attacks in the city in recent months, amid a campaign of violence gripping the nation struggling to overcome an Islamist insurgency.</s>MOGADISHU, Somalia (AP) — A police officer says a car bomb blast near a police station in Somalia’s capital has killed at least five people and wounded at least 13 others.

Capt. Mohamed Hussein says the explosion near Waberi police station along the busy Maka Almukarramah road may have been a suicide bomber.

Most of the victims are civilians.

The exact target of the blast remains unclear.

The Somalia-based extremist group al-Shabab often carries out deadly bombings in Mogadishu.</s>NAIROBI, July 30 (Reuters) - A car bomb explosion in the Somali capital Mogadishu on Sunday killed six and wounded 20 others and the death toll was likely to rise, a police officer said.

"So far we know civilians died and 20 others were injured. They were mostly pedestrians while others were shopping," the police officer said. "Death toll may rise. Most of the injured ones are very serious," Major Mohamed Hussein, the police officer, told Reuters. (Reporting by Abdi Sheikh; Editing by George Obulutsa and Jane Merriman)</s>MOGADISHU, July 30 (Reuters) - A car bomb went off on a busy street in the Somali capital Mogadishu on Sunday, a police officer said, while a Reuters witness said the blast was followed by big clouds of smoke visible in sky.

The bomb exploded as the car was driving in the busy Maka al Mukaram road, the police officer told Reuters. "It is a busy area. We do not yet know the figure of casualties," the police officer, Major Hussein Nur, said.

A Reuters reporter at the scene of the blast counted four bodies lying on the ground. Photographs taken by Reuters showed three destroyed cars on the road, with two still burning.

It was not clear who was responsible for the blast. (Reporting by Abdi Sheikh and Feisal Omar; Editing by George Obulutsa. Editing by Jane Merriman)
A car bomb explodes near a police station in Mogadishu, killing at least six people and wounding thirteen others.