A Somali police officer says at least eight soldiers are dead and more than 14 others wounded after a suicide bomber detonated an explosives-laden vehicle at the gates of a military base in Somalia's capital.

Captain Mohamed Hussein says the toll is expected to rise.

Police Colonel Ahmed Muse says the bomber struck the 12th April Army Brigade base near the newly reopened sports stadium in Warta-Nabadda district.

Witnesses say ambulance sirens can be heard as police cordon off the scene. Huge clouds of smoke are billowing.

The al-Qaida-linked al-Shabab extremist group often targets military sites in Mogadishu.