A Somali governor and three bodyguards were killed in a suicide attack claimed by the Al-Shabaab jihadist group in the regional capital of Galkayo on Sunday, a security official said.

The attacker rammed a scooter taxi into a car carrying Ahmed Muse Nur, the governor of the north-central Mudug province, and his security detail before detonating an explosive device, official Muse Ahmed told AFP.

A witness named Bile Mohamed described the attack in a phone call with AFP, saying: "Everyone in the vehicle including the governor and his driver died, there was smoke and fire all everywhere."