At least 15 people were killed in the central Somali town of Beledweyne on Saturday, state television said, after a suicide bomber detonated an explosive vest in a restaurant that witnesses said was packed with local officials and politicians.
A further 18 people were injured in the Beledweyne attack, the Somali National Television said on Twitter.
The al Shabaab militant group claimed responsibility for the attack, according to a report by SITE intelligence, which monitors militants groups online.
The group, which frequently attacks government targets and civilians, has unleashed two attacks in the past two weeks.
One witness in Beledweyne said he helped to evacuate the injured after the mid-morning attack.
"I counted seven dead, including soldiers and civilians, and over ten injured," Aden Farah, a local elder, told Reuters.
Police and government officials confirmed the restaurant attack was the result of a suicide bomb but did not give the number of casualties.
One of those killed in the attack in Beledweyne was a candidate in an ongoing parliamentary election, residents said.
The parliamentary elections began on Nov. 1 and were initially supposed to end on Dec. 24, but are currently due to be completed on Feb. 25.
