Somalia government spokesman wounded by suicide bomb blast

Mohamed Ibrahim Moalimuu was rushed to hospital after the explosion outside his residence in Mogadishu

Government soldiers at the scene of suicide bomb attack in Mogadishu on January 16. AFP

Somalia's government spokesman was wounded on Sunday in a suicide bomb explosion at a road junction in the capital Mogadishu, police and the national news agency said.

A Reuters photographer at the scene of the blast reported seeing body parts lying on the ground outside the house of Mohamed Ibrahim Moalimuu, who was taken to hospital.

“A suicide bomber targeted the government spokesman, who is now being treated in hospital for his injuries from the blast,” police spokesman Abdifatah Aden told Reuters.

Nasra Bashir Ali, state media special correspondent in the prime minister's office where Mr Moalimuu is based, said on Twitter that he did not suffer life-threatening injuries in the attack, which targeted him as he was passing in his vehicle.

Prime Minister Mohamed Hussein Roble condemned the “odious terrorist attack” on the government spokesman, state media reported.

It was not immediately clear who was behind the attack.

In the past, the Al Qaeda-linked militant group Al Shabab has taken responsibility for gun and bomb attacks on Somali security and government targets, and also on civilians.

Al Shabab aims to topple the UN-backed central government and impose its own interpretation of Islamic law.

The group also carries out attacks on African Union peacekeeping troops.