Suicide car bomb targets restaurant in Somali capital

A suspected suicide car bomb hit a restaurant in the Somali capital Mogadishu on Saturday, killing at least three people.

Residents said the restaurant was frequented by members of the national security forces.

"A suicide car bomb rammed into Blue Sky restaurant," police Major Abdikadir Hussein told Reuters shortly after the blast.

Abdifatah Omar, a spokesman for Mogadishu's local government, said at the scene that three people had been confirmed dead so far and four others were injured. "The investigation for further details continues," he said.

Al Shabaab has claimed the responsibility for the attack. The group has launched many similar attacks in Mogadishu in the past in its bid to topple the Western-backed government.

"We are behind the Blue Sky restaurant attack," said Sheikh Abdiasis Abu Musab, al Shabaab's spokesman. He said the group wanted to attack personnel who worked at a nearby detention centre, known as Jilaow, where militants are usually held in underground cells

The attack came a day after the Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud said Mogadishu had managed to reduce the threat from the al-Shabaab terrorist group.

He said the military support from African Union's peacekeeping forces plays an important role in the fight against terrorism in his country.

Over 20,000 troops are stationed in Somalia as part of the African Union Mission to Somalia (AMISOM) fighting the al-Qaeda affiliated al-Shabaab movement, which was created at the beginning of 2004.