MOGADISHU: A suspected car bomb killed at least 10 people when it exploded at a police checkpoint next to a busy market in the Somali capital Mogadishu on Saturday, police and witnesses said.

"The whole market is ruined and people perished. The death toll is sure to rise," Colonel Abdikadir Farah, a police officer, told Reuters, saying at least 10 people had been confirmed dead so far, while a dozen more were wounded.

Reuters witnesses also counted at least 10 bodies at the scene.