Mogadishu, In a shocking incident, at 22 people killed in a bomb explosion outside a hotel in Somali capital Mogadishu people in a heavily secured area close to the presidential palace.

On Tuesday, a security conference was under way at the hotel at the time of the blast.

The Somali Youth League (SYL) Hotel is a popular meeting place for government officials and has been targeted by militants before.

According to a police officer, "Security forces tried to stop the bomber who used back roads before he sped through checkpoints near the presidential palace and detonated the bomb".

"He reached near the gate of the state house with flat tyres."

The Islamist al-Shabab group, which is affiliated to Al-Qaeda, said it is behind the attack.