MOGADISHU, Somalia-At least 22 people were killed in an attack by Islamist militant group al-Shabaab in Mogadishu on Friday, security officials and medical sources said.
Twin car bombs were used in the attack near the Somali capital's presidential palace, which was followed by a fierce gun battle between the attackers and the security forces.
The first blast went off at about 6:30 p.m., followed minutes later by a second explosion, both near up-market hotels, the intelligence agency headquarters and the president's home.
"We have just confirmed that up to 22 people were killed in the attacks, among them three Somali security forces. Most of those killed were civilians," security official Mohamed Hassa told dpa.
Al-Shabaab claimed responsibility for the attack on its Andalus radio station.
Mohamed Yusuf, director of Madiina hospital where many of the dead and injured were taken, said most had been killed in the first car blast.
Five of the attackers, including a suicide bomber, were also killed, Somali security minister Mohamed Abukar Islow said on local radio.
The exact target of the attacks is unclear, but security sources who asked not to be named told dpa that the al-Shabaab militants had tried to force their way past a checkpoint near the presidential palace but were held back.
Ambulances rushed to the scene as security forces sealed off the area.
"I felt the ground shaking under my feet," said resident Mohamud Yusuf, who was near the first blast. "It was a huge one and we saw black smoke."
Al-Shabaab, which is seeking to establish an Islamist state in Somalia, regularly launches attacks on government buildings, hotels and restaurants in the volatile nation on the Horn of Africa.
In October, more than 500 people were killed when a suicide bomber detonated a truck full of explosives in the capital.
Since that attack, the deadliest ever in Somalia, President Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed has vowed to eradicate al-Shabaab.
There has also been an unprecedented outpouring of public anger, with ten of thousands taking to the streets last year calling for the militant group to be wiped out.
The latest attack comes just a day after the Ministry of National Security warned Mogadishu residents to be vigilant because an attack could be imminent.