At least seven people were wounded on Saturday as police shot a suicide car bomber at a checkpoint outside the port in Somalia's capital Mogadishu, police and witnesses said. Officers opened fire on the vehicle after it failed to stop at the police checkpoint at the country's main seaport, according to witnesses. Islamist insurgent group Al-Shabaab said they were behind the attempted attack. "A suicide bomber tried to strike the police post in front of the port but the security forces shot him and the vehicle exploded," said police officer Abdukadir Ahmed. "Two police officers and five civilians were wounded," he said. Also on Saturday, a bomb was detonated in the western city of Baidoa, killing five. "The device was hidden in a tea shop close to a checkpoint where the security forces frequent during the day," said police officer Muqtar Isak, adding that two police officers and three civilians were killed. Al-Shabaab claimed that attack too. Somalia has suffered near-continuous conflict for almost 30 years, while the internationally backed government in Mogadishu has been fighting Al-Shabaab militants since 2008. Bombings and other terrorist attacks are common in Mogadishu and Baidoa, although few have been recorded in recent months. nur-tmc/erc/jxb