Somalia car bomb kills scores

Updated at 6:50 a.m. Eastern

MOGADISHU, Somalia - A rescue official says the toll from a truck bomb in Somalia's capital has risen to 70 dead.

Ali Muse, the chief of Mogadishu's ambulance service, said Tuesday that at least 42 others were wounded when a truck laden with explosives blew up in front of the Ministry of Education.

Ali Hussein, a police officer in Mogadishu, said the vehicle blew up after pulling up to a checkpoint at the entrance to the ministry offices.

The al Qaeda linked militant group al-Shabab claimed responsibility for the attack in a website it uses.