The blast struck outside a compound housing government buildings in Kilometre Four (K4) - a crossroads in central Mogadishu.

BBC: Huge Somalia suicide car bomb kills dozens in capital

Such advances now let the jihadists control traffic between Mogadishu and central Somalia.

ECONOMIST: Jihadists attack Somalia

Musa Sude Yalahow, a former driver who controls much of Mogadishu, says that a central government might be a good idea so long as it recognised his sub-clan's ownership of the capital.

ECONOMIST: Somalia's government and warlords

The Ethiopians quickly occupied Mogadishu but failed to pacify much of central and southern Somalia.

CNN: Fertile territory for Al-Shabaab in chaos of Somalia

Various armed groups would then fight for control of Mogadishu, Somalia's capital, and of central Somalia.

ECONOMIST: Ethiopia and Somalia

She says she was motivated to return after hearing about the plight of Somali children caught up in violence, including being recruited by the al-Qaeda affiliate, al-Shabab, which has lost control of Mogadishu and other towns to Amisom and government forces but still controls many rural areas of southern and central Somalia.

BBC: Somali women seek a brighter future in Mogadishu