MOGADISHU, Feb. 17 (Xinhua) -- The Somali government on Wednesday said it had thwarted a plot to kill many government officials during Monday's suicide car bomb attack in government- controlled part of Mogadishu, local media reported.

The attack using two car bombs and a hand cart laden with explosives targeted the Somali state minister for defense, Sheikh Yusuf Siyad Indha Adde, who survived the assault which left five dead and more than 15 wounded, mostly civilians.

The explosion took place near Ambassador Hotel which is frequented by senior Somali government officials and where, Somali Labor Minister Mohamed Abdi Hayir said, a "fake seminar" for government officials was scheduled.

"We foiled a plot to kill many people after we cancelled a fake seminar that was organized by an unknown organization called Center for Training and Consultancy (CTC) inviting a number of members of parliament, security officials and Director Generals to a seminar at the Ambassador Hotel on Feb. 15 to coincide with the terrorist attack," Minister Hayir told local Shabelle radio in Mogadishu.

Hayir said his ministry just acted in accordance with procedure that organizations in the country should be legal and that seminars should not be held without notification of the ministry.

"The ministry was not aware of the plot whose aim was to cause maximum casualty on the government rank. Somali security forces are in pursuit of the perpetrators," Hayir said.

The Somali government accused the Islamist Al Shabaab movement of being behind the attack, but the group, which wages deadly insurgency against the government and the African Union (AU) peacekeeping mission, has not officially claimed responsibility for Monday's attack.

The radical movement, however, had previously taken responsibility for carrying out similar attacks on government officials and security forces, as well as AU peacekeepers based in Mogadishu.

Both Somali government forces and Islamist fighters have recently been gearing up for a major confrontation which analysts say would be the biggest so far.