Deadly bomb blasts hit Somalia's Mogadishu

At least six people have been killed and 10 injured by bomb explosions in Somalia's capital Mogadishu and a town in the country's Middle Shabelle region, police and witnesses have said.

It was not immediately clear who had carried out Saturday's attacks, although the militant group al Shabaab frequently orchestrates bombings and gun attacks in Mogadishu and elsewhere in the Horn of Africa country.

The blast in Mogadishu involved a bomb-rigged car that was parked on a road near the National Theatre in Mogadishu, about one kilometre away from the president's office.

It detonated, killing five people and injuring seven, a policeman at the scene, who asked not to be named because he was not authorised to speak to the press, said.

The casualty figures were confirmed by another policeman in the area.

In a separate incident, a bomb planted in a livestock market in Jowhar city in Somalia's Middle Shabelle region killed one person and injured three other civilians, Jowhar police commander Bashir Hassan told a press conference.

Al Shabaab has been fighting for years to topple Somalia's central government and establish its own rule.