
An explosion at a busy checkpoint in Somalia's capital Mogadishu today killed at least 90 people and wounded dozens, according to an international agency working inside the country.

Rescuers carried dead bodies past the twisted wreckage of a vehicle and minibus taxis smeared with blood.

'The number of casualties we have confirmed is 76 dead and 70 wounded, it could still be higher,' the director of the private Aamin Ambulance services, Abdukadir Abdirahman Haji said.

The blast took place at the Ex-Control checkpoint, a tax collection centre in Mogadishu, and comes amid persistent insecurity in the Horn of Africa nation.

Paramedics and civilians assist a man injured in a car bomb explosion at a security checkpoint as he arrives to a hospital in Mogadishu, Somalia

Rescuers carry the dead body of a civilian killed, from the scene of a car bomb explosion at a checkpoint in Mogadishu today

Somali security assess the scene of a car bomb explosion at a checkpoint in Mogadishu

Medical personnel carry a civilian who was wounded in suicide car bomb attack at check point in Mogadishu

Men assist a man injured in a car bomb explosion at a checkpoint in Mogadishu earlier today

The injured were transported to Medina Hospital, where a witness saw dozens arriving by ambulance from the scene.

‘I saw many dead bodies lying on the ground,’ said a witness, Mohamed Abdi Hakim. ‘Some of those dead were police officers, but most were students.’

Abdurrahman Yusuf said that he was standing just feet away from the truck at the time of the blast. ‘It knocked me to the ground,’ he said.

At least two of the dead were believed to be Turkish construction engineers working on a road project, said Omar Mohamud Mohamed, mayor of Mogadishu.

‘We will confirm the exact number of the dead later but it is not going to be small. Most of the dead were innocent university students and other civilians,’ he added.

No one immediately claimed responsibility for the blast though it is similar to past attacks by al Qaeda-linked Islamist group al Shabaab.

The fundamentalist militants regularly carry out such attacks in an attempt to undermine the government, which is backed by the United Nations and African Union troops.

Mayor Omar Mohamud Mohamed, speaking at the scene, said at least 90 people were wounded, including children.

An injured child is carried by two women at Madina hospital following a car bomb explosion at a checkpoint in Mogadishu earlier today

Hospital staff attend to an injured woman, who was wounded during the apparent suicide attack in Mogadishu today

A group of men carry an injured person away from the scene towards Madina hospital in Mogadishu after today's bomb blast

A Somali woman weeps as victims of the attack are brought to the Madina Hospital in Mogadishu today

Two Turkish brothers were among the dead, Somalia's foreign minister said.

The checkpoint is also a tax collection point for the government, Ali Abdi Ali Hoshow, a foreign affairs ministry official, said on Twitter.

Most of those killed were university and other students returning to class, Mayor Omar Mohamud Mohamed said at the scene.

Three other witnesses said that a small team of Turkish engineers were present at the time of the blast, constructing a road from the checkpoint into the city.

The witnesses said that a car belonging to the engineers was destroyed instantly in the blast. It was not clear whether the engineers survived.

Somali Foreign Minister Ahmed Awad later confirmed on Twitter that two of the Turkish engineers died in the blast.

Many of the dead were 'students with ambition, and hardworking men and women', he wrote.

Turkey's foreign ministry confirmed the death of two of its nationals.

Turkey has been a major donor to Somalia since a famine in 2011, and together with the government of Qatar is funding a number of infrastructure and medical projects in the country. In 2017, Turkey opened a military base in Mogadishu to train Somali soldiers.

Somali men help to unload a victim, that was injured during a car bombing attack, at the Madina Hospital in Mogadishu today

A Somali police officer walks past wreckage at the scene of a car bomb explosion at a checkpoint in Mogadishu earlier today

Turkey has been a major donor to Somalia since a famine in 2011, and together with the government of Qatar is funding a number of infrastructure and medical projects in the country.

The checkpoint is also a tax collection point for the government, Ali Abdi Ali Hoshow, a foreign affairs ministry official, said on Twitter.

Al Shabaab has also carried out attacks in east African countries such as Kenya and Uganda.

The most deadly attack blamed on al Shabaab was in October 2017 when a bomb-laden truck exploded next to a fuel tanker in Mogadishu, creating a storm of fire that killed nearly 600 people.

The group has sometimes not claimed responsibility for attacks that provoked a big public backlash, such as a 2009 suicide bombing of a graduation ceremony for medical students.

Police described the blast as 'devastating' and photos from the scene showed the mangled frames of vehicles.

A large black plume of smoke rose above the capital in the aftermath of the attack.

'The blast was devastating, and I could confirm more than 20 civilians killed, there were many more wounded, but the toll can be higher,' police officer Ibrahim Mohamed said.

A wounded man sits outside of emergency unit at Mogadisghu's Madina Hospital after the bomb blast today which killed more than 60 civilians

A picture shows members of the Somalian security forces walking past charred wreckage of a car after the explosion in the Somali capital earlier today

A man helps an injured man after the bomb blast at a Mogadishu security checkpoint earlier today

Health team members take away dead bodies from the site of the bomb blast in Mogadishu earlier today

Another officer said the blast targeted a tax collection center as Somalia returned to work after its weekend.

'I have counted twenty-two dead bodies, all of them civilians and there were more than thirty others wounded, this was dark day,' said Ahmed Moalim Warsame, who witnessed the explosion.

The explosion occurred in a busy area prone to heavy traffic due to a security checkpoint and a taxation office.

'This was a devastating incident because there were many people including students in buses who were passing by the area when the blast occurred,' said another witness Muhibo Ahmed.

Sakariye Abdukadir, who was near the area when the car bomb detonated, said the blast 'destroyed several of my car windows.'

'All I could see was scattered dead bodies [...] amid the blast and some of them burned beyond recognition.'

A wounded man is lugged on to the back of a truck after a suicide car bomb attack earlier today in the Somalian capital, Mogadishu

The blast took place at the Ex-Control checkpoint in Mogadishu and comes amid persistent insecurity in the Horn of Africa nation

Police described the blast as 'devastating' and at least 90 civilians, mostly students, are believed to have been injured in the explosion (pictured, a wounded civilian)

A woman is hoisted off of the back of a truck after being injured in a car bomb in the Somali capital, Mogadishu earlier today

After the sound of the explosion, 55-year-old Sabdow Ali, who lives nearby, said that he had left his house and counted at least 13 people dead.

'Dozens of injured people were screaming for help, but the police immediately opened fire and I rushed back to my house,' he said.

The police were not reachable for comment on casualty numbers.

Government authorities have told medical personnel not to disclose figures as they have done in the past, and journalists are forbidden from going to attack sites.

Somalia has been riven by conflict since 1991, when clan warlords overthrew dictator Siad Barre, then turned on each other.

Mogadishu is regularly hit by car bombs and attacks waged by Al-Shabaab Islamist militants allied to Al-Qaeda.

The group was forced out of the Somali capital in 2011 but still controls parts of the countryside and has also staged attacks in neighbouring Kenya.

Medical personnel carry a civilian who was wounded in suicide car bomb attack at check point in Mogadishu, Somalia today

A civilian with injuries to his head walks away from the site of the bomb blast in Mogadishu earlier today

Somali security assess the scene of a car bomb explosion at a checkpoint in Mogadishu, Somalia (pictured, a blood splattered van following the blast)

An injured woman is transported on a wheelchair at Medina hospital following the blast

Paramedics and civilians assist a man injured in a car bomb explosion at a security checkpoint as he arrives to a hospital

The militant group emerged from the Islamic Courts Union that once controlled central and southern Somalia and is variously estimated to number between 5,000 and 9,000 men.

In 2010, the Shabaab declared their allegiance to Al-Qaeda.

In 2011, its fighters fled positions they once held in the capital Mogadishu, and have since lost many strongholds.

But they retain control of large rural swathes of the country and continue to wage a guerrilla war against the authorities.

Two weeks ago five people were killed when al-Shabaab attacked a Mogadishu hotel popular with politicians, army officers and diplomats in an hours-long siege.

Since 2015, there have been 13 attacks in Somalia with 20 or more killed, 11 of which have been in Mogadishu, according to a tally of AFP figures. All of them involved car bombs.

A Somali woman reacts at the scene of a car bomb explosion earlier today in Mogadishu

A civilian who was wounded in suicide car bomb attack is helped by a friend at a checkpoint in Mogadishu

An ambulance leaves from the scene of a car bomb explosion at a checkpoint in Mogadishu

A wounded man is carried on a stretcher at Medina hospital following the 'devastating' blast

Damaged vehicles are seen at the site after a bomb attack carried out to a checkpoint in Somalia's capital Mogadishu on December 28, 2019

The latest attack again raises concern about the readiness of Somali forces to take over responsibility for the Horn of Africa country's security in the coming months from an African Union force.

Al-Shabab, the target of a growing number of U.S. airstrikes since President Donald Trump took office, controls parts of Somalia's southern and central regions.

It funds itself with a 'taxation' system that experts describe as extortion of businesses and travelers that brings in millions of dollars a year.