Al-Shabaab, an Al-Qaeda-linked militant group, has claimed responsibility.
The attack hit near the entrance to the busy port. “The bomber targeted a civilian area, there were porters and other small scale traders in the area when the blast occurred," senior police officer Ibrahim Mohamed said, Russia Today reported.
The Al-Qaeda-linked terrorist group often stages similar attacks in the country.
In August, 14 people were killed in two separate suicide attacks – on the presidential palace and a restaurant, both located in the capital Mogadishu. In January, 20 people died when militants attacked the Beach View Café in the capital, employing the group's usual tactic of car bomb followed by shootout.