Somali Islamist group al-Shabaab claimed responsibility for a car bombing in the capital, Mogadishu, that targeted a convoy of vehicles carrying foreign diplomats and left 10 people dead.

A vehicle laden with explosives hit the escorts of United Arab Emirates diplomats, killing six civilian bystanders, two soldiers and the two bombers, police officer Suleyman Dirshe said Wednesday by phone. None of the U.A.E. visitors were harmed, he said.

Al-Shabaab, which has waged an insurgency in the Horn of Africa nation since 2006 in a bid to impose a strict form of Islamic law, said it conducted the assault, al-Jazeera reported, citing a statement from the militants.

While the al-Qaeda-linked group has lost ground since being driven out of Mogadishu in 2011 by government and African Union forces, it continues to stage deadly gun and bomb attacks. The attack came about two days after al-Shabaab vowed to conduct more violence during the Islamic holy month of Ramadan.