5 people have been killed in a deadly car bomb blast that allegedly targeted a security checkpoint near the Presidential Palace in Somalia’s capital, Mogadishu.  

According to Ceoafrica, security officials said that the checkpoint 500 metres from the palace was rammed by a car bomb driven by a suicide attacker, causing the explosion outside a theatre.

Abdifatah Omar Halane, spokesman for the Mogadishu administration, said that, "At least five people were killed including security personnel and 10 others wounded".

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Mohamed Hussein, a police officer, said: "Casualty numbers may rise. There were pedestrians along the street at the time of the explosion".

The victims included Somali soldiers at the checkpoint in downtown Mogadishu. The scene of the blast was close to second gate of Presidential Palace.

The armed group al-Shabab claimed responsibility for the suicide attack on its website. 

Al-Qaeda-linked al-Shabab, which is fighting to overthrow the Somali government, has been blamed for a string of attacks in Mogadishu.  

Al-Shabab was forced out of the capital by African Union troops in 2011 but still controls parts of the countryside and carries out attacks against government, military, and civilian targets in the capital and regional towns.

Last week, at least five people were killed and 12 others injured in two separate car bombings in Mogadishu.

As well as insecurity, Somalia is also battling famine, with three million going hungry because of a drought that is also affecting other parts of Africa.