Five civilians were killed and 13 others wounded in a car bombing near a market in central Somalia on Thursday, police said.

A car rigged with explosives detonated near a busy market in the district of Buloburde in Hiran region, sending shoppers fleeing the scene, police and witnesses said.

"They killed five civilians and wounded 13 others in Buloburde after detonating a car loaded with explosives in the market area," said local police officer Abdullahi Hassan.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attack, which comes a week after Somalia's government admitted to "several significant setbacks" in its fight against Al-Shabaab militants.

The Al-Qaeda-linked Islamists have waged an insurgency against the country's central government for over 15 years.