BELEDWEYNE, Somalia — At least three people were killed and four others wounded in an explosion at a café in central Somalia, witnesses said.
The blast, believed to have been caused by an improvised explosive device (IED), went off at a tea shop popular with soldiers in Beledweyne, about 300km north of Mogadishu.
Witnesses said the explosion was loud enough to be heard across the town. All the victims were civilians who had been at the café at the time.
No soldiers were reportedly present when the explosion occurred, according to Ali Hussein, a witness. He said a woman was among those killed.
Hussein said the injured were taken to a nearby hospital for treatment. The device is believed to have been planted at the café before it opened.
No group has claimed responsibility, but such attacks are often attributed to al-Shabab, an al-Qaida-linked militant group.
Local authorities have not yet released an official statement about the incident.
Beledweyne has been a center of civilian resistance against al-Shabab. The group has launched repeated deadly attacks in the town in recent months.
