Car bomb in Somalia kills at least 10

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GRAPHIC WARNING: Contains images which some viewers may find disturbing. Mohamed Abdiwahab / AFP - Getty ImagesA member of the Somali security forces flees the site of a car bomb in central Mogadishu, Somalia, on March 18, 2013. Mohamed Abdiwahab / AFP - Getty ImagesA woman reacts near the site of a car bomb in central Mogadishu on March 18, 2013.Reuters reports — A car bomb exploded near the presidential palace in the Somali capital Mogadishu  on Monday, killing at least 10 people in a blast that appeared to target senior  government officials, police said.

The suicide attacker detonated explosives while driving along a boulevard  that runs between the palace and the national theatre, a route lined by tearooms  that were engulfed in fire moments after the blast, senior police officer  Abdiqadir Mohamud said. A public minibus driving along the road burst into  flames.

"The suicide car bomber targeted a senior national security officer whose car  was passing near the theatre," Mohamud told Reuters. "Most of the people who  died were on board the minibus - civilians. This public vehicle coincidentally  came between the government car and the car bomb when it was hit." Read the full story.Feisal Omar / ReutersAn injured man sits on the road near the presidential palace in Mogadishu on March 18, 2013. Follow @NBCNewsPictures  

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