At least eight people have been killed in a bomb blast in Somalia's capital, Mogadishu, rescue workers say

The Islamist militant group al-Shabab said it carried out the attack

The blast took place on a road by the entrance to a camp for the Somali Air Force which is close to the international airport.

Witnesses told the AFP news agency that a private security convoy, escorting foreigners, was passing by when the bomb exploded.

"The blast was so huge that it has destroyed most of the buildings nearby the road and vehicles passing by the area," Hassan Nur said.

"I saw several dead and wounded people strewn in the road," he added.