MOGADISHU, Somalia (AP) — A suicide car bomber targeted an army convoy near parliament headquarters in Somalia's capital on Saturday evening, killing two soldiers, a police official said.

The bomber struck troops travelling along Sayidka junction, sending plumes of smoke into the sky.

The attacker, who also was killed, was trying to cause the maximum number of casualties but failed as he struck only one of the convoy's vehicles, Capt. Mohamed Hussein said.

The local al-Shabab extremist group claimed responsibility for the blast, saying on its Andalus radio that one of its fighters targeted a convoy of intelligence forces.

The al-Qaida-linked al-Shabab has carried out several such attacks in Mogadishu this year as it continues a deadly guerrilla war across large parts of Somalia.