A truck bomb has exploded outside a government compound in the Somali capital, Mogadishu, killing more than 20 people.

A VOA reporter in Mogadishu counted 21 bodies Tuesday outside the compound, which houses eight Somali ministries. Officials at the scene said the death toll was likely higher.

Witnesses told VOA that two suicide bombers drove the truck into the compound, and that more than 60 people were wounded in the blast.

The al-Qaida-linked militant group al-Shabab has claimed responsibility for the attack.

Al-Shabab is fighting to overthrow Somalia's fragile transitional government in a bid to impose a strict form of Sharia, or Islamic law. The group recently pulled its fighters from Mogadishu, but continues to hold large sections of southern and central Somalia.