Officials called the explosions one of the deadliest attacks to hit the capital, Mogadishu, since an Islamist insurgency began in 2007.
President Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed declared three days of national mourning and called for donations of blood and funds to help the victims.
The blasts left at least 300 others wounded, and families scrambled to find missing relatives amid the rubble and in hospitals. The toll was expected to rise.
At least 130 had been burned beyond recognition.
The blast occurred two days after the head of the United States Africa Command was in Mogadishu to meet with Somalia’s president, and after the country’s defense minister and army chief resigned for undisclosed reasons.
The American military has stepped up drone strikes this year against the Shabab, a group aligned with Al Qaeda that has recently stepped up attacks on army bases across the southern and central parts of the country.