Huge explosion rocks Somalia capital Mogadishu; at least 11 killed

Large clouds of smoke overcast Somali capital after a huge explosion was heard on Wednesday, a witness said. Security officials and witnesses reported bodies strewn on the ground as plumes of smoke rose high into the air after the bomb detonated on Mogadishu's Maka Al-Mukarama road, one of the seaside capital's main thoroughfares, an area busy with businesses and travellers.

"The death toll we have confirmed so far is 11 people, with 16 others wounded," said Abdulkadir Abdirahman Adan, director of the Aamin Ambulance service, adding that the toll could still rise.

This comes after Al-Shabaab Islamist group last Saturday attacked complex housing government ministries, killing at least 11 people. The assault was a sign of the insurgency's continued ability to strike at the heart of Somalia's government, despite years of foreign military support for Mogadishu.

Attacks that combine bombings with gunmen have become a speciality of the Al-Qaeda linked group, which is running an armed insurrection against what it sees as a heretic and foreign influence in Somalia.