Armed group al-Shabaab claimed responsibility for the attack early on Wednesday and confirmed to Al Jazeera that a car bomb was used.

At least two people were also wounded in the explosion, witnesses said.

The blast hit a tea stand in front of the police station where new recruits are trained in the Abdi Aziz district of Mogadishu.

The police station is near the popular Lido beach, which was the scene of another al-Shahaab attack in January, in which up to 20 people were killed.

In the January attack, suicide bombers stormed the Beach View Hotel, after which several al-Shabaab fighters opened fire at the hotel.