At least 76 dead after Somalia suicide car bomb attack

At least 76 people are dead and 70 wounded after a car bomb exploded in Somalia on Saturday, according to CNN.

Al-Shabaab has claimed the attack, which took place at a busy intersection during rush hour, according to the news network. 

Both civilians and soldiers were reportedly killed in the incident. 

Government spokesman Ismael Mukhtar told CNN that the perpetrator drove into a checkpoint that connects southern Somalia to its capital, Mogadishu.

He said that some of the people who were killed were college students whose bus was hit by the blast.

Al-Shabaab aims to create an Islamic State in Somalia, according to the Council on Foreign Relations. 

The group was also responsible for a hotel attack two weeks ago that killed at least five people, according to CNN.