Mogadishu, May 22 (IANS): At least four people were killed and 12 others injured in a car bomb attack in Somalia's capital Mogadishu on Wednesday, the police said.

A police officer told Xinhua news agency that the car filled with explosives went off as the officials were checking vehicles in Mogadishu's Bondhere district, causing deaths and injuries.

"The blast happened in a traffic area at a police checkpoint. So far, we can confirm four people died in the explosion. We are establishing more details on the incident," the officer said.

A Somali military officer and her bodyguards were among the dead, while a lawmaker was among those injured in the blast, the report said.

Abdulkadir Abdirahman Adan, Director of Mogadishu's free ambulance service Aamin Ambulance, said they took 12 injured people from the scene.

The blast came barely four days after a car laden with explosives went off at El-Gabta junction in Mogadishu's Hamarweyne district leaving no casualties.

Al Qaeda-allied group al-Shabab, which is fighting to overthrow the government, claimed responsibility of the latest attack.