Blast kill 3 in Somali restaurant frequented by soldiers

Soldiers stand in the rubble of a destroyed building near the scene of a suicide car bomb attack in Mogadishu, Somalia, Monday, Jan, 2, 2017. An attacker detonated an explosives-laden vehicle at a security checkpoint near Mogadishu's international airport, killing several people, according to a police officer. The assaults have threatened this Horn of Africa nation's attempts to rebuild from decades of chaos. The country's presidential election, a key step toward recovery, already has been delayed multiple times because of security and other concerns. (AP Photo/Farah Abdi Warsameh) (The Associated Press)

HARGESIA, Somalia – A Somali police officer says a bomb explosion at a restaurant in Somalia's capital, Mogadishu, has killed three people, and injured more than 16 others.

Captain Mohamed Hussein said a bomb believed to have been concealed in the restaurant often frequented by government soldiers in the Hodan district went off on Saturday evening.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the bombing, but suspicion centered on the Islamic extremist group al-Shabab, which is waging an insurgency against Somalia's weak government.

Al-Shabab, al-Qaida's East African affiliate, is fighting to impose a strict version of Islam in the Horn of Africa nation.

Despite losing territory in recent years, the extremist group continues to carry out lethal attacks in many parts of the country, especially Mogadishu.