Car bomb attack strikes local government office in Mogadishu

A Reuters witness said there was a huge blast and clouds of smoke could be seen in the city.

"A suicide car bomb (rammed) into the district office of Hawlwadag in Mogadishu. It is too early to know casualties," major Abdullahi Hussein, a police officer told Reuters.

Somalia has been convulsed by lawlessness and violence since 1991. Islamist group Al Shabaab is fighting to dislodge a Western-backed government protected by African Union-mandated peacekeepers.