A family of nine has reportedly died in a double car bombing in central Hiraan province, Somalia,
The local deputy policy commissioner also said 26 people were killed.
The al-Qaeda linked group al-Shabab has said it was behind the attack.
The district commissioner of Mahas town said his home and that of a local MP were the targets.
Meanwhile the second explosion targeted the market, the mayor of Mahas, Mumin Mohamed Halane stated.
The blasts were so powerful that witnesses said people far away from the explosion sites were wounded by flying fragments.
Al-Shabab has been losing ground in recent months after President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud pledged “total war” against the Islamist militants in August, following an attack on a popular Mogadishu hotel, which saw more than 20 people die.
Both African Union forces and US funds have been allocated to assist Somalia in its fight against al-Shabab.
