Reuters witness said that a huge explosion hit Somalia's capital, Mogadishu, early on Thursday, causing a plume of smoke that rose from the blast site amid heavy gunfire.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility, but the Somali Al-Shabaab Movement is renowned for carrying out bombings in the Horn of Africa country on a regular basis.

The last explosion occurred in Somalia last September, when a suicide car bomb exploded near the presidential palace in the Somali capital Mogadishu, killing at least seven people. In a short statement, Al-Shabaab Movement claimed responsibility for the attack.

The group attacked a convoy heading toward the presidential palace as it paused at a busy checkpoint.