At least 10 people were killed and about a dozen wounded when a car rammed into a busy restaurant and exploded in the Somali capital Mogadishu on Tuesday, police said.

"At least 10 people died, including government soldiers and residents, and a dozen more were injured," said Colonel Osman Ibrahim, a senior police officer at the scene of what police say was a suicide attack.

"The death toll is sure to rise," he added.