At least 14 people were killed on Thursday in a car bombing in the Somali capital Mogadishu. A government spokesman said 14 people had died but the toll could rise as rescuers search through the debris. Abdikadir Abdirahman, director of Amin ambulances, had earlier said 22 people were injured in the blast. Most of the casualties were passers-by and traders, Captain Mohamed Hussein told The Associated Press. "There was a heavy blast here and the number of casualties we have is so far 14 killed and a number of others wounded," said Abdiazis Ali Ibrahim, a security ministry spokesman. The extremist al-Shabaab group claimed responsibility for the attack. The car was detonated in front of the Weheliye hotel in the city Centre. The Shabaab claimed that it had targeted a gathering of government officials, army and intelligence officers. Witnesses described a big explosion on Makkah al-Mukarama street, one of the citys busiest running through central Mogadishu, which was packed with people heading home from work at the time. "The blast was so huge, a vehicle containing explosives went off near a teashop in front of Weheliye hotel, leaving more than 10 people dead. I saw people being rushed to hospital and some of them were already dead," said witness Abdulahi Moalim. "Most of the casualties are... people who were spending time to take tea, there was devastation and buildings were damaged," said another witness Mohamednur Abdirahman. Mogadishu is regularly hit by bomb attacks carried out by the Shabaab which is fighting to overthrow Somalias internationally-backed government. The Weheliye hotel was previously attacked by Shabaab gunmen in 2015. In February twin car bombings left 38 people dead in Mogadishu. In October last year, Somalia suffered its deadliest-ever terrorist attack in which more than 500 people were killed in a truck bombing in a busy part of the city. In the wake of that attack, Somalias government declared a fresh offensive against the Shabaab. The United States has also stepped up the tempo of drone and missile strikes, and increased its support for ground attacks by US-trained Somali forces. The Shabaab was pushed out of the capital in 2011 -- and subsequently other towns and cities -- by soldiers from the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM). East African leaders contributing to the AMISOM force last month called for the United Nations to reconsider plans to withdraw troops by December 2020, saying the timeline was unrealistic and could lead to a reversal of gains.