Johannesburg - Somalia's Minister of Youth and Sport has survived an assassination attempt after a hand grenade was thrown at his car in the capital Mogadishu.
Mohamed Abdullahi Nassan Noah told the Voice of America (VOA) that the explosive device hit his car at a local market in Maka Al Mukaramah, the capital's busy main street.
"When I got out from the car, a bomb hit and damaged the car, everybody was shocked and ran away from the scene," the minister said.
"A family friend who was travelling with me was hurt, but I was unhurt," he added.
The minister said his bodyguards were not wounded.
Somalia's security minister said in a tweet that two civilians were wounded in the attack, VOA reported.
It has yet to be determined who was behind the attack, although the extremist group Al Shabaab is suspected having carried out numerous attacks against government officials in and around Mogadishu.
In June, Somalia's State Minister for Environment Buri Mohamed Hamza and more than one dozen other people were killed when the militants stormed a hotel in the capital.
Sunday's attack came hours after Somali officials released new poll dates for the 2016 elections, reported VOA.
African News Agency