At least five people have been killed, a security source said

- The car bomb exploded outside the Elite hotel by the beach Lido, says police officer Adan Ibrahim.

The Islamist extremist group al-Shabaab has long spread terror in the region; the deed in Mogadishu is reminiscent of al-Shabaab's tactics.

An ambulance company on site states that about 30 people were injured, but there is no official information on dead or injured, or if the attack is still ongoing.