At least 7 killed in suicide bomb attack on restaurant in Mogadishu

A suicide bomber blew himself up at a teahouse near the Sayidka junction in Mogadishu, Somalia, killing at least seven people, according to local media.

The blast on Friday targeted Bar Bulsho, a popular restaurant in Mogadishu not far from the presidential palace. Al-Shabab militants claimed responsibility for the attack.

The restaurant is popular with soldiers and other Somali security officers, a witness said.

In a separate development, Somali intelligence officers captured a suspected arms smuggler linked to Al-Shabaab. The arrest comes five months after intelligence forces seized two shipments of military hardware and explosives at the Mogadishu seaport.

The culprit, 28-year-old Sakaria Kamal Sufi Abba-Sheikh, was trying to enter an area controlled by Al-Shabaab.

According to the statement, Abba-Sheikh was the leader of a network that smuggled military equipment for Al-Shabab from abroad. The agency, NISA, said the group hid the equipment in commercial shipments that were seized at the Mogadishu seaport in May.