Two large explosions occurred close to the Ministry of Education office near Zoobe junction in Mogadishu on Saturday afternoon.
A sizeable billow of smoke was visible from the busy K-5 junction. A resident told HalQaran News that windows were blown close to 1km away.
The exact casualties are unknown, but witnesses and police say at least a dozen people may have been killed.
A police spokesman said a journalist named Mohamed Issa Konan was among the dead.
Sources say the Hodan district police commander, Hussein Ad’eyd Osman, was also killed in the attack. A second large explosion came minutes after the first blast.
The director of Mogadishu’s only ambulance service said that one of Aamin Ambulance’s drivers was injured, and his ambulance was destroyed while attempting to access the victims from the first explosion.
The blast comes as senior government officials and security officials are meeting at the headquarters of the Somali Police Force in Mogadishu to discuss the ongoing offensive operations against al Shabaab.
The Somali President and the leaders of the Federal Member States are also meeting in Mogadishu for a two-day NCC summit focused on security.
