Somalia car bombs leave 100 dead, 300 wounded

At least 100 people have been killed and 300 wounded in two car bombs that exploded outside the Education Ministry in Somalia's capital Mogadishu, the country's president said.

President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud announced the latest death toll on Sunday after two cars packed with explosives were detonated minutes apart near the busy Zobe junction and followed by gunfire on Saturday, causing mass casualties.

"Our people who were massacred ... included mothers with their children in their arms, fathers who had medical conditions, students who were sent to study, businessmen who were struggling with the lives of their families," President Mohamud said after visiting the site of blast.

Mohamud said the number of victims could rise. He had instructed the government to provide immediate medical assistance to the wounded, some of whom were in serious condition.

Police spokesperson Sadik Dudishe said on Saturday the incident was being investigated.

"The ruthless terrorists killed mothers. Some of them died with their children trapped on their backs," he told reporters at a press briefing, adding the attackers had targeted "students and other civilians".

The response by security forces had stopped the attackers from reaching their intended location, Dudishe said.

The afternoon explosions shattered windows of nearby buildings, sent shrapnel flying and clouds of smoke and dust into the air.

Abdirahman Ise, a witness, said the road had been busy when the first blast went off.

"I saw huge smoke in the ministry area and there is massive destruction," another witness, Amino Salad, said.

READ MORE: Al Shabab co-founder killed in joint operation: Somalia

Al Shabab blamed for attack

The attack happened at a busy junction where a truck packed with explosives blew up on October 14, 2017, killing 512 people and injuring more than 290.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attack but Prime Minister Hamza Abdi Barre blamed Al Shabab. 

The terror group remains a potent force in the troubled Horn of Africa nation despite multinational efforts to degrade its leadership.

It has been seeking to overthrow the fragile foreign-backed government in Mogadishu for about 15 years.

Its fighters were driven out of the capital in 2011 by an African Union force but the group still controls swathes of countryside and has the capacity to wage deadly strikes on civilian and military targets.