MOGADISHU Dec 5 (Reuters) - Suicide bombers attacked a restaurant in the
town of Baidoa northwest of the Somali capital on Friday, killing up to
seven people and wounding dozens of others, a police officer and a doctor
said.
There was no immediate claim of responsibility but the Islamist group al
Shabaab, which wants to impose its strict interpretation of Islam on
Somalia, often carries out such attacks. Friday evening is a busy time when
many Somalis go out.
"First a suicide bomber blew himself up at the entrance of the restaurant
and then a suicide car bomb followed when people converged to help," Captain
Nur Osman, a police officer, told Reuters by telephone. He said the death
toll was at least five.
Dr Abdullahi Ali, manager at Baidoa hospital, said the hospital had received
seven dead with 34 others wounded in the two blasts.
Al Shabaab rebels have been losing major Somali strongholds because of a
military offensive by African Union and Somali troops this year, but have
continued to stage hit-and-run bombings and shootings in Mogadishu and
elsewhere in Somalia. (Reporting by Feisal Omar; Writing by Edmund Blair;
Editing by Andrew Heavens)