“At 9:10 a.m., a terrorist car loaded with explosives crashed into a checkpoint near the Sayidka junction. Security forces opened fire on the car as they rushed to the Presidential Palace in Mogadishu,” a police statement read.
Police said the suicide bomber was also killed in the blast.
“Thank God, the vigilance of the security forces has saved the people from the threat of terrorism for the innocent Somali people,” the statement added.
There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attack that takes place amid a political crisis in Somalia, after the country’s president Mohamed Abdullahi Farmajo’s mandate expired on February 8 without any timely election.
Saturday’s incident was the second major explosion in recent weeks in the Somali capital.
Al-Shabaab claimed responsibility for the attack through a statement broadcast by Andalus Radio, its mouthpiece channel. CNN could not independently confirm this claim.
The rebel group wants to turn Somalia into a fundamentalist Islamic state. It has previously claimed responsibility for other attacks in Mogadishu, including a truck bombing in December that killed 85 people.