Four people killed, 10 hurt in suicide blast in Somali capital

At least four people were killed and 10 others injured in Somalia's capital Mogadishu on Tuesday after a suicide bomber blew himself up in a tea shop just outside a military base, the state-run SONNA news agency and residents said.

Patrons, who included both soldiers and civilians, were sipping tea when the bomber blew himself up, the residents said.

One resident, Ahmed Ismail, told Reuters he heard the blast but that when he ran towards the scene to find out what had happened he was blocked by soldiers.

The Nacnac base outside which the blast occurred is located near a Turkish military garrison which helps to train Somali troops.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the blast but the Islamist group al Shabaab frequently carries out bombings and gun assaults in Mogadishu and elsewhere in Somalia.

The group wants to topple Somalia's central government and establish its own rule based on its own strict interpretation of Islamic Sharia law.