Nairobi, Oct 5 (IANS): The UN has strongly condemned Tuesday's suicide attack in Somalia's capital city Mogadishu that killed at least 70 people and injured 150 others.

The attack occurred when a suicide bomber detonated a car packed with explosives near the education ministry in the capital city, Xinhua reported.

The UN Special Representative for Somalia, Augustine P. Mahiga, expressed his strong condemnation of the suicide bomb attack at a transitional federal government complex in south Mogadishu.

"I am deeply saddened by this senseless and cowardly attack. I would like to send my deep condolences to the families of the victims," said Mahiga late Tuesday. "These actions are unacceptable. The murder of ordinary Somalis can not be justified for any reason."

Mahiga also called on the international community to urgently provide the necessary resources to the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) to enable them to deal effectively with the continuing instability in the country.

The car bomb went off near a government building Tuesday in the centre of Mogadishu near the Ministry of Education where students were sitting for a foreign scholarship examination.

The Islamist rebel group of Al Shabaab officially claimed responsibility for the deadly attack.