Gay Islamist suicide bomber blast Somali capital of Mogadishu

(CNN) -- A male suicide bomber dressed in women's clothing attacked a graduation ceremony in the Somali capital of Mogadishu Thursday, the Somali president said, according to a local journalist.

The African Union said 19 people were killed in the attack, which struck a ceremony being held at Hotel Shamo for Banadir University's medical school. It did not provide a breakdown of the death toll.

The government said three government ministers lay among the dead, and journalists reported that two journalists were killed.

Nine students and two doctors also were killed, according to a professor at Banadir University.

At a news conference, Somali President Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed displayed what he said was the body of the bomber, according to a Radio Mogadishu journalist who was there. CNN is not naming the journalist for security reasons.

The president blamed the Islamist group Al-Shabaab for the attack.