Somalia's president vowed Saturday he would not halt efforts to restore peace and security to the country in the wake of a car bomb attack in central Mogadishu by Al-Qaeda-linked Shebab rebels.

The huge blast on Friday evening outside a top hotel in Somalia's capital killed at least four people, including a government official, and wounded 15, according to the government.

"I strongly condemn this heinous act of terrorism outside the Maka al Mukurama Hotel by Shebab, which caused deaths and injuries to civilians," Somalia's internationally backed president, Hassan Sheikh Mohamud, said in a statement. (AFP)