(Adds lawmaker)
MOGADISHU, July 5 (Reuters) - A least one person was killed when a car bomb exploded near the Somali parliament building on Saturday, a few hundred metres from the presidential compound, a lawmaker said.
"A car bomb occurred near the parliament house but we are all safe," Dahir Amin Jesow, a legislator in the house, told Reuters, referring to lawmakers inside the building.
"I could see a dead soldier and three other injured soldiers outside parliament's compound which is safe," he said.
Government forces blocked all roads leading into the area and the sound of wailing ambulances could be heard.
"We were shaken by a huge blast near the parliament house. We were immediately surrounded by forces and we cannot go out of houses," Farah Sabdow, a resident in the area, told Reuters.
Al Shabaab militants, who threatened to step up attacks during the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan which began on Sunday, were not immediately available for comment. (Reporting by Abdi Sheikh; Writing by Duncan Miriri; Editing by Louise Ireland)
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