A businessman escaped with injuries when a bomb planted in his car went off along Maka al-Mukarama road in Mogadishu's central business district, police said Monday.

A police officer at the scene Yahye Abdi told Xinhua the car had been rigged with explosive devices and went off when the businessman tried to start the car.

An eye witness told Xinhua there was a huge explosion then the vehicle went up in flames. "There was sudden explosion across the street and shortly we saw a vehicle on fire," said Elmi Noor.

The street is popular with African Union convoys and government vehicles.

No group has claimed responsibility, but Somalia-based militant group Al-Shabaab has been known to use such tactics to launch attacks.

Source : XINHUA