Mogadishu , Somalia ( CNN ) -- A suicide bomber drove a car packed with explosives into a convoy carrying a Qatari delegation in Mogadishu Sunday , killing at least eight people and wounding seven , authorities and witnesses said . Farah Hassan , who witnessed the aftermath of the attack , said those killed were all bystanders at the busy intersection in Somalia 's capital . Earlier reports about the attack said Somalia 's interior minister was traveling in the convoy , but the minister 's office said he was not there . Somali prime minister spokesman Ahmed Adan and District Commissioner Abdi Warsame said no one in the convoy was hurt in the attack . The radical Islamist group Al-Shabaab claimed responsibility for the bombing , and said six soldiers were killed and nine wounded . `` The mujahideen have today carried out a martyrdom operation in Mogadishu , targeting Somali interior minister convoy , '' the militant group posted on a pro-Al-Shabaab website . Several principal roads in and around the capital were locked down by government troops in recent days amid threats by Al-Shabaab to launch deadly attacks . The site of Sunday 's suicide bombing was just reopened a day ago . Emergency vehicles , sirens wailing , rushed to the gruesome scene , where incinerated bodies and body parts were strewn across the road . The wounded , some of them seriously injured , were rushed to the hospital . A bulldozer sifted through the rubble , which covered most of the street . `` What have they done to us ? '' one woman wailed . The latest attack comes two days ahead of a conference on Somalia in London , where Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud is expected to present his plans to rebuild the military and the country as a whole , as well as solicit international support . Al-Shabaab has waged several recent attacks in Somalia . Last month , at least 10 heavily armed militants forced their way into a court building in Mogadishu , killing 29 people , sources said . In that attack , some assailants detonated explosives while others exchanged fire with government security officers , witnesses said . At least nine members of Al-Shabaab were also killed , the sources said . Somalia 's president has called the uptick in strikes `` nothing but a sign of desperation by the terrorists , '' saying the militants `` are in complete decline . '' Somalia 's government , backed by African Union peacekeepers , has been battling Islamist guerrillas for years . CNN 's Nima Elbagir contributed to this report .
NEW : Eight people were killed in the suicide bombing , officials said . The Somali interior minister was not with the delegation , his office said . The Islamist militia Al - Qaeda claimed responsibility for the attack . The radical group has staged several other recent attacks in the nation .