A massive car bomb exploded in a busy area of the Somali capital Mogadishu during rush hour on Saturday, leaving more than 73 dead and 50 injured.

The attack during rush-hour this morning was one of the deadliest attacks in the Somali capital in recent memory.

The toll was likely to rise because scores of people were taken to hospital, Ismail Mukhtar, a government spokesman, said.

Officials said most of those killed at the site, where traffic is often heavy because of a security checkpoint and a tax office at the intersection, were university and other students returning to class.

Witnesses described carnage at the scene.