MOGADISHU (Reuters) - Somali Islamist group al Shabaab bombed a restaurant frequented by members of the security forces in Mogadishu on Saturday, killing at least three people, officials and the group said.

Police said a suicide car bomb rammed the Blue Sky restaurant in the capital, which is located near a detention center, known as Jilaow, where militants are often held in underground cells.

Al Shabaab frequently launches attacks in Mogadishu in its bid to topple the Western-backed government.

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.

“We targeted the security forces and officers of the underground Jilaow cell who were there,” Sheikh Abdiasis Abu Musab, al Shabaab’s military operations spokesman, told Reuters, adding that at least 10 people were killed.

He did not say whether a suicide car bomb was used in the attack, although the group often uses such tactics.

Casualty figures given by al Shabaab and officials often differ.</s>Story highlights Four people are killed and five injured in blast in Mogadishu, Somalia

Car bomb explodes near prison where militant Al-Shabaab suspects are questioned

Mogadishu, Somalia (CNN) The Islamist militant group Al-Shabaab claimed responsibility for a car bombing that killed four people Saturday in the Somali capital.

A vehicle packed with explosives detonated near a prison run by the Somali National Intelligence and Security Agency in Mogadishu, Col. Hamza Ali, a senior police officer, told CNN. The car had been parked at the Blue Sky restaurant near Godka Jili'ow prison, a heavily protected facility where Al-Shabaab suspects are questioned.

Five people were injured in the attack, Ali said.

A statement posted on a pro-Al-Shabaab website said the car bomb had targeted a Somali intelligence officer at the restaurant.

Al-Shabaab is a Somali extremist group that seeks to turn the country into a fundamentalist Islamic state. It has carried out repeated attacks against Somalia's government and military targets.</s>A vehicle packed with explosives detonated near a prison run by the Somali National Intelligence and Security Agency in Mogadishu, Col. Hamza Ali, a senior police officer, told CNN. The car had been parked at the Blue Sky restaurant near Godka Jili'ow prison, a heavily protected facility where Al-Shabaab suspects are questioned.

Five people were injured in the attack, Ali said.

A statement posted on a pro-Al-Shabaab website said the car bomb had targeted a Somali intelligence officer at the restaurant.</s>A car burns after an explosion in Mogadishu Somalia, on Saturday, Oct. 1, 2016.

MOGADISHU, Somalia — A Somali police officer says a car bomb blew up at the entrance of a restaurant in the Somali capital of Mogadishu, killing two people.

Capt. Mohamed Hussein said the blast Saturday occurred at the Blue Sky restaurant close to the presidential palace.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the bombing but the Islamic extremist group of al-Shabab often carries out such attacks.

Al-Shabab, al-Qaida's East African affiliate, is fighting to impose a strict version of Islam in this Horn of Africa nation. Despite losing a lot of ground in recent years, the extremist group continues to carry out lethal attacks in many parts of the country, especially in the capital. Recent attacks have focused on the capital's hotel industry, which is remerging from decades of conflict.</s>At least two people were killed and five injured Saturday when a car loaded with explosives blew up near a restaurant in Mogadishu, a security official and witnesses said.

The car was parked in front of the Blue Sky restaurant, near a busy road close to the headquarters of the Somali National Intelligence and Security Agency (NISA) in the southern district of the capital.

The blast was detonated remotely outside the restaurant, security forces spokesman Mohamed Dahir told AFP, adding that "information we have gotten so far indicates that two civilians were killed in the blast".

Sources said the restaurant is frequented both by security personnel and civilians.

"I saw two dead bodies and five wounded, most of them civilians who were passing by the area," added eyewitness Abdukadir Shilow. "There is chaos around the restaurant and Somali forces sealed off the road after the blast."

There was no immediate claim of responsibility although immediate suspicion fell on the Al-Qaeda linked Islamist group Shabaab, locked in battle against the Somali government and which regularly mounts attacks in the city.

Despite being driven out of the capital in 2011 by an African Union force deployed in 2007 the group still control vast swathes of outlying rural areas from which they launch guerrilla operations.

Somalia is due to hold a delayed presidential on October 30 as the country targets a long-awaited return to stability.</s>Residents said the restaurant was frequented by members of the national security forces.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility but Islamist group al Shabaab has launched many similar attacks in Mogadishu in the past in its bid to topple the Western-backed government.

"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.
A car bomb at a Mogadishu restaurant near the Jilaow detention center kills four people and injures another five. Al-Shabaab claims responsibility for the attack.