A car bomb exploded near Somalia’s defense ministry headquarters in Mogadishu on Sunday, killing at least 15 people and injuring 20 others, media reports said.

Somalia’s Islamic extremist rebel group al-Shabaab claimed responsibility for the attack.

The bomb targeted a convoy that carried the new head of the Somali military and other senior officials. The military chief, who was just sworn into office, survived. 

Five soldiers and at least 10 passengers of a passing minibus were killed.

The death toll was expected to rise because of the number of seriously injured. Two packed minibuses were passing by when the bomb went off. A spokesman for Mogadishu’s mayor said all passengers were likely killed.