At least 76 people are dead and 70 wounded after a car bomb exploded in Somalia on Saturday, according to CNN.

Al-Shabaab has claimed the attack, which took place at a busy intersection during rush hour, according to the news network.

Both civilians and soldiers were reportedly killed in the incident.

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Government spokesman Ismael Mukhtar told CNN that the perpetrator drove into a checkpoint that connects southern Somalia to its capital, Mogadishu.

He said that some of the people who were killed were college students whose bus was hit by the blast.

Al-Shabaab aims to create an Islamic State in Somalia, according to the Council on Foreign Relations.

The group was also responsible for a hotel attack two weeks ago that killed at least five people, according to CNN.