More than three dozen medical, computer science and engineering students had gathered to receive their diplomas at the ceremony at the Shamow Hotel, which sits in the small patch of Mogadishu that is held by Somalia's weak central government.

The ministers for education, higher education and health were killed in the blast, said Somali Information Minister Dahir Mohamud Gelle. The ministers for sports and tourism were wounded.

Two reporters were killed in the blast and two other journalists were seriously wounded, said Bashir Khalif, a reporter for the Somali government's radio service.

In total, nine people were killed, said Col. Abdilahi Hassan Barise, a police spokesman.

Several hundred people had gathered inside a decorated ballroom in the Shamow Hotel to celebrate the graduations. Attendees sat on plastic chairs and faced a small stage when the explosion went off.

No officials could immediately confirm the cause of the blast. An Associated Press reporter attending the ceremony said that the explosion did not appear to be caused by a mortar blast because the roof remained intact, suggesting the blast was caused by a bomb planted in the hotel or possibly by a suicide bomber.

African troops protecting the fragile Somali government wage near daily battles with Islamic militants who control much of central and southern Somalia. The Horn of African nation hasn't had a stable government for almost two decades.

The president of Benadir University said 43 students were taking part in the graduation ceremony. The university was established in 2002 by a group of Somali doctors who wanted to promote higher education in a country where doctors have become the victims of the seemingly endless violence in their country.

The university's Web site says the school has more than 500 students and "strives to establish an open system of innovation and critical thinking similar to that in the developed countries."