At least 13 people were killed Saturday when an explosives-packed vehicle detonated at a military checkpoint near Somalia's presidential palace, police said.
Those killed include three staffers from the London-based Universal TV station, including prominent journalist Awil Dahir Salad, said police Capt. Mohamed Hussein.
The bomber targeted the checkpoint near the rear entrance of the heavily fortified palace, Hussein said.
A lawmaker and a deputy mayor of Mogadishu were among the more than 20 people wounded, he said.
Soldiers also were among the dead, Col. Ahmed Mohamud said.
The blast and a second, smaller one nearby appeared to target those heading to work on what is a business day in the Horn of Africa nation.
The extremist al-Shabaab group, in comments broadcast on its Radio Andalus, claimed responsibility for both blasts and said the second was also a car bomb targeting those who had responded to the first.
A plume of smoke rose over the capital as ambulances rushed to the scene.
The Shabaab was pushed out of Mogadishu years ago but continues to control large parts of rural southern and central Somalia.
The US military, which partners with Somali forces and an African Union peacekeeping mission, has greatly increased airstrikes against al-Shabab under the Trump administration.
On Monday, it announced that 62 extremists were killed in six strikes it had carried out over last weekend.
At least 47 US strikes have been carried out this year.
