At least eight people were killed Saturday when a car bomb exploded near a busy market in Somalia's capital Mogadishu, police said, while medical sources said the toll could be far higher.

"We have counted about eight civilians so far who were killed in the blast and more than ten others wounded but the death toll could be higher because the area is a market and it was so densely populated when the blast occurred, most people who were wounded have serious injuries," said Somali police official Ibrahim Mohamed.