Al Shabaab most likely behind Mogadishu blast

A car bomb exploded inside the compound of a major police building in Somalia's war-torn capital Mogadishu on Friday, wounding at least two police officers.

Reuters/Omar Faruk

Friday’s blast took place in the grounds of the Criminal Investigation Department of Somalia's police, close to the busy central K4 roundabout.

Witnesses said the car exploded while parked inside the building, destroying the perimeter wall.

The police say they had arrested four suspected suicide bombers earlier Friday and had taken their car into the headquarters of the criminal investigations department, where it exploded.

No group immediately claimed responsibility for Friday's attack, but such attacks are typically carried out by al Shabaab, the country's most dangerous militant group, which merged with al-Qaida last week.

While al Shabaab pulled its forces out of Mogadishu last year, they launch frequent attacks against the Western-backed government with suicide bombers, roadside bombs and grenades.

Last week a suicide bomber killed at least 15 people at a cafe near the presidential palace, the deadliest in the anarchic city since October, when a truck packed with explosives killed at least 82 people.