Mogadishu, Dec 26 (IANS): At least four security officers including their commander were killed in a roadside bomb blast on Sunday near a hospital in the west of the Somali capital Mogadishu, officials said.

A security official, who declined to be named, told Xinhua news agency on phone that al-Shabab militants were behind the killing.

"Al-Shabab terrorists killed four including Daynile (district) security chief commander in a remote-controlled roadside bomb attack near the main hospital in the district, the police forces cordoned the area and started examining the situation," said the officer.

Sources said the security commander and his staff were going to give military support to other forces that were fighting al-Shabab militants at Saqira location on the outskirts near Mogadishu's Daynile district when they were hit by the blast.

Al-Shabab militants' affiliated media however said that the blast killed six security forces in the bomb attack.

The latest attack comes amid enhanced security in the capital, Mogadishu, and its surrounding areas.