Seven killed in Somali capital restaurant attack

Al-Shabaab militants detonated a car bomb and stormed a beach restaurant in the Somali capital Mogadishu on Thursday evening, killing at least seven people and injuring several others.

Benadir region police commissioner Bishar Abshir Gedi told reporters on Friday that two police officers and five civilians lost their lives in the attack, adding "the number of injured was more."

Security forces killed two attackers and captured another one in a gun battle with the militants, he said.

Mogadishu police chief, Bishar Ali Gedi, said the security forces ended the siege of the restaurant early Friday and had "rescued most of the civilians who were stranded inside the restaurant building."

The targeted Banadir Beach Club and Restaurant is located on the Lido beach near the Turkish embassy compound.

Witnesses earlier told Xinhua that a suicide bomber detonated a car bomb near the restaurant, followed by gunfire.

The Al-Shabaab Islamist group, which is fighting against the Somali government, has claimed responsibility for the attack.

The police said the death toll could rise as some of those hospitalized sustained serious injuries.

Abdi Farey, Head of Security of Benadir region, said the captured militant was injured and hospitalized. "He will be questioned over the incident," he added.

Al-Shabaab militants have carried out frequent attacks in Mogadishu. The latest one on the popular beach comes ahead of Somalia's elections due in September and October. Endit