MOGADISHU, Somalia (AP) — Somalia's police say a car bomb blast hit a restaurant near the youth and sports ministry in Mogadishu, the capital.

Captain Mohamed Hussein said the car bomb was detonated Wednesday near a busy restaurant.

He said he did not immediately know the number of casualties from the explosion but said ambulances reached the scene to transport wounded victims.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility, but homegrown Islamic extremist group al-Shabab often carries out deadly attacks in Mogadishu.

The rebels have been pushed out of the capital and other major urban areas in Somalia but they continue to carry out deadly bombings and attacks. Al-Shabab has denounced Somalia's new President Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed as an "apostate" and warned Somalis against supporting him.