The death toll from twin car bomb blasts in the Somali capital, Mogadishu, has risen to 45 from the initially reported 18.
Al Qaeda-linked al Shabaab militants claimed responsibility for the attack occurred late on Friday near the president's residence and a hotel.
A senior government official on Saturday said the death toll from last night's blasts has risen to 45 and 36 others were injured.
According to Reuters, the group wants to overthrow the Somali government and impose its own harsh interpretation of Islamic law. It has killed hundreds of civilians across East Africa and thousands of Somalis in a decade-long insurgency.
In October, more than 500 people were killed in twin bomb blasts in Mogadishu. Those attacks were the deadliest since al Shabaab began an insurgency in 2007. Al Shabaab did not claim responsibility for that incident.
