MOGADISHU: A suicide bomber blew himself up Tuesday in central Mogadishu after being arrested, killing two soldiers and wounding at least four civilians, a security official said.

"A man was detained by soldiers driving a car we believed was full of explosives, but when the soldiers told the driver to open the car, he detonated explosives on his body," said government security official Abdi Hashi.

"It killed two soldiers and the bomber died too, while the explosion wounded four civilians."

No group immediately claimed responsibility for the attack, the latest in a string of blasts including roadside bombs and grenade explosions that have rocked the Somali capital in recent weeks.

The war-torn city has seen an increase in such attacks since the Al-Qaeda linked Shebab abandoned fixed positions there in August and switched to guerrilla tactics against the Western-backed government.

Witnesses said several civilians were wounded in the blast, which took place near the central K4 roundabout.

In October, a Shebab suicide bomber detonated an explosives-laden truck, killing at least 82 and wounding many more, the bloodiest such attack in the group's history.

The hardline insurgents control large parts of southern Somalia but are facing increasing pressure from regional armies and government forces.

Kenyan troops are battling the rebels in the far south, Ethiopia forces are in the south and west, while Ugandan and Burundian soldiers in the African Union force in Mogadishu are supporting government efforts.