Somalia restaurant attack: Six killed by al-Shabab

In Mogadishu, a vehicle exploded when security forces shot at it as it attacked a police post

A bomb explosion at a restaurant in the southern Somali town of Baidoa has killed six people, officials have told the BBC.

There has also been a suicide bomb attack close to the port of the capital, Mogadishu, which injured at least seven.

Militant group al-Shabab said it was behind both incidents.

The UN-backed government has been battling against al-Shabab for control of the country for more than a decade.

• Who are Somalia's al-Shabab?

The militants, who are allied to al-Qaeda, said that in Baidoa they were targeting tax collectors, who were holding a meeting at the restaurant, and soldiers.

They added that two soldiers died in the attack but officials said the victims were all civilians.

Al-Shabab said it was behind both the attack in Mogadishu (pictured) and in Baidoa

Police told the BBC that in Mogadishu officers opened fire on a vehicle after it failed to stop at a checkpoint.

The suicide bomber driving the car is said to have tried to hit a police post in front of the port but the security forces shot him and the vehicle exploded.

Two police officers and five passers-by were wounded.

"Metal debris fell all over us inside the port and we heard gunfire," a port worker told Reuters.