Restaurant hit by deadly suicide attack in Somalia

At least three people have been killed and two others injured when a suicide bomber blew himself up at a restaurant near the presidential palace in the Somali capital, Mogadishu.

No group has claimed responsibility for the attack that targeted the Village restaurant on Saturday morning.

The restaurant is often frequented by journalists and government officials and has previously been attacked by the al-Shabab armed group.

A witness, Burhan Diini, said he saw several wounded victims after the attack. “Ambulances were seen rushing to the scene. Security forces surrounded the area,” he told the DPA news agency.

The attack comes nearly two months after a hotel was bombed in Mogadishu killing at least 15 people, including an Al Jazeera contributor, Mustaf Abdi Noor.

The hotel attack was claimed by al-Shabab.

Al-Shabab fighters were ousted from Mogadishu, in 2011 and have been pushed out of key cities, but they are not yet defeated and the government remains weak.