MOGADISHU, Somalia - A car bomb exploded Wednesday at a bank in Somalia’s capital, Mogadishu amid increasing assassinations and attacks in the seaside city, Garowe Online reports.

A local police officer, Capt Mohamed Hussein said 4 civilians were wounded after an Improvised explosive device [IED] fitted into a pick-up vehicle exploded outside Premier bank HQ at the busy Taleh junction.

No group claimed responsibility for the afternoon explosion, which shattered windows in the bank and nearby commercial buildings, and left the charred remnants of multiple cars set ablaze on a parking lot.

Ambulances quickly arrived on the scene and took the injured to nearby hospitals for treatment as the security forces cordoned off the area and halted public transport.

Meanwhile, the police did not identify who was the prime target of the attack.

In separate incidents, gunmen, believed to be Al-Shabab militants have shot dead two people, including an employee working for the country's ministry of interior and a trader in the capital on Wednesday.

Al-Shabab carried out multiple recent attacks on the city using grenades, guns, and bombs in its quest to topple the government, which is backed by the UN, and rock the African Union force [AMISOM].

The city was hit by its deadliest single attack on 14th Oct. 2017 when a truck bomb went off at Zoobe junction, killing more than 550 people and wounding many more.

GAROWE ONLINE