Iran Press/ Africa: "Nineteen people, including members of the security forces and civilians, died in the explosions. The terrorists blew up two cars near a military base in Mahas," said Mohamed Moalim Adan.
A police spokesman said the vehicles exploded in a neighbourhood full of civilians just after the dawn prayer.
According to witnesses, several people were wounded in the attack in Hiran region, including soldiers and journalists who were embedded with them.
Al-Shabab has claimed responsibility for the attack.
Mahas is at the centre of the ongoing government offensive against the al-Qaida-linked group that has controlled parts of central and southern Somalia for years.
The Somali army, together with local militias, recently opened a key supply route to Mahas after it had long been under siege.
Somalia's President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud vowed in July last year that his government would launch a "total war" against the extremist fighters.
The terror group al-Shabab has been conducting deadly strikes in the country against government officials and African Union peacekeepers since 2007.
Mahas is one of the districts where the government and regional forces flushed out al-Shabab in the past months.
Government forces have intensified operations to root out al-Shabab terrorists from their hideouts in the central region of Somalia in recent months, which resulted in the militants losing ground and suffering heavy casualties.
The al-Qaida allied terror group has lost many areas previously under its control, but it is still capable of staging attacks in Somalia.
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