MOGADISHU, SOMALIA - Three people are dead after a pair of suicide car bombings in Somalia's capital, police said Friday.

The first explosion occurred at an army checkpoint on the airport road in Mogadishu, injuring one soldier, Capt. Mohamed Hussein said. The bomber apparently was heading to Mogadishu's international airport but was stopped by soldiers.

The heavily fortified airport houses embassies and is a major target for al-Shabab extremists.

The second car bomb detonated shortly afterward near busy Benadir junction after soldiers stopped the vehicle, firing on it as it tried to speed through a checkpoint.

The three dead included a soldier, Hussein said.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the two explosions. The al-Qaida-linked al-Shabab often targets high-profile areas of the capital and holds large parts of southern and central Somalia.