Somali soldiers killed in Mogadishu blast

At least 11 people, including six soldiers, have been killed by a remote-controlled bomb in a restaurant in the Somali capital, witnesses say.

The restaurant is near a military base, where salaries had just been paid.

The owner of the restaurant in the Dayniile suburb on the outskirts of Mogadishu was also among the dead, along with her husband and son.

No group has said it was behind the explosion but militant Islamist group al-Shabab often stages such attacks.

The al-Qaeda-linked group was driven out of Mogadishu in 2011 but still controls many southern and central areas of the country.

"The remotely controlled bomb targeted government forces. Eight people died, including three soldiers," Maj Kadar Mohamed, a senior police officer told Reuters news agency.

Witnesses say that at least six of the dead were military personnel.

"The whole place was ruined and stained with blood," said Fatuma Hassan, a mother of three who was near the bomb blast.

Several injured people were rushed to hospital.