Story highlights Islamist militant group Al-Shabaab claims responsibility for the attack

The explosion happened across the street from a hotel that was attacked two months ago

Mogadishu has been the site of frequent attacks by Al-Shabaab

Mogadishu, Somalia (CNN) A car bomb exploded at a restaurant near the presidential palace in the heart of Somalia's capital Tuesday, killing at least 10 people, including a woman and a boy, police said.

Somalia-based Islamist militant group Al-Shabaab claimed responsibility for the attack. Group spokesman Sheikh Abdiaziz Musab, speaking to pro-Al-Shabaab outlet Andalus radio, said the blast targeted and killed several Somali intelligence agents.

Somali police spokesman Qasim Mohamed Roble told reporters that the car bomb killed no government official or soldier. Among the dead, he said, was a boy who shined shoes.

The area is not a new target for Al-Shabaab, which has battled Somalia's government for years with the goal of establishing a fundamentalist Islamic state.

The restaurant is across the street from the Central Hotel, where Al-Shabaab killed at least 15 people in a bombing and gun attack in February

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