Suicide bombers hit restaurant in Somali capital

MOGADISHU (Reuters) - Two suicide bombers attacked a restaurant in the Somali capital on Saturday, killing a security guard who stopped them entering the building, locals said.

It was not clear who was behind the bombings but Al Qaeda-linked al Shabaab insurgents have conducted similar previous attacks and remain a serious security challenge even after being forced out of their strongholds.

The blasts rocked the restaurant, popular with Somalis returning from abroad in the hope that the country's darkest days are over, damaging cars and scattering the area with body parts.

"Two suicide bombers opened fire at guards at the gate and as soon as they entered two successive blasts took place," Mogadishu resident Farah Hussein told Reuters.

"I cannot go in but I see three dead people in front of the gate. The guards fought the bombers and denied them access. The bombers blew themselves up at the gate," Hussein said.

A Reuters witness saw the two bombers' bodies and that of a guard.

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