Car bomb explodes near Turkish embassy in Somalia

A beachfront tourist area in the Somali capital of Mogadishu exploded in violence Thursday when attackers detonated a car bomb and engaged police in a gunfight near the Turkish embassy compound, authorities said.

The attack was the latest in a series of strikes to rock the beleaguered East African nation.

Police opened fire on the car when the bomber refused to stop at a checkpoint near the beachfront embassy, the Associated Press reported. Police Capt. Mohamed Hussein told AP the bomber detonated the car in the middle of the road. It was not immediately clear if there were casualties.

Major Ahmed Ibrahim, a police commander, told the Voice of America that the extremist militant group al-Shabab conducted the attack.

"A car bomb exploded at Banadir beach restaurant at Lido beach and there is an exchange of gunfire," he said. "We have no other details so far."

Al-Shabab's military operation spokesman Abdiasis Abu Musab confirmed his group was responsible, telling Reuters the militants "attacked the Banadir beach restaurant and now our fighters are fighting inside it."

Another blast was reported earlier in the southern Somali town of Bardhere, wounding at least 11 people, VOA said. It was not immediately clear if any group had claimed responsibility for that attack.

Somalia has been targeted by numerous al-Shabab attacks. On Sunday, twin suicide bombings targeting local government offices in the city of Galkaayo.killed 20 people and wounded scores more. More than a dozen people died July 31 in a car-bomb assault on a Mogadishu police station, and a  few days earlier about 20 people died in a double car-bomb attack near U.N. offices in the city.

The al-Qaeda-linked group also took responsibility for an attack in January at a Lido beach hotel-restaurant not far from the Turkish embassy that left about 20 people dead, including eight militants.