Two people were killed today in an explosion targeting the convoy of a local police chief in the Somali capital, Mogadishu.

Local media reported that a car bomb exploded in front of a Turkish-owned mosque in the Karan district of Mogadishu, apparently targeting the convoy of the Karan police chief.

This comes weeks after the bombing of the convoy of the Somali government spokesman, Mohamed Ibrahim Moallemou, who was wounded and taken to Turkey for treatment, according to the authorities.

Earlier, Abdirahman Adan, a police officer stationed near the site, said that the assailant strolled into a Mogadishu tea store and detonated the explosive vest he was wearing.

"We have confirmed four dead, and nine others wounded," he said. "The casualties were taken to hospital."

Al-Shabaab, a Somali terrorist group with ties to Al-Qaeda, claimed responsibility for the attack, claiming it targeted Somali soldiers receiving training at a Turkish-run military academy nearby. Soldiers stationed nearby, according to witnesses, frequented the tea establishment.

For years, Somalia has been witnessing a bloody conflict between government forces and the militants of the Al-Shabab movement, which seeks to control the country in the Horn of Africa and rule it.