Militant group al-Shabab has claimed responsibility for an attack which the United Nations has called an "attack against the people".

A failed raid in Somalia and anger at the capture of an al-Qaeda leader in Libya has focused on the US’s problems in its fight against militants.

Two suicide bombers walked into a restaurant in central Mogadishu and killed at least 15 people on Thursday, police said.

Al-Shabab militants are advancing towards the port city of Kismayu, raising fears of a bloody clash with African Union soldiers.

After four years of conflict, Mogadishu bears the signs of a city slowly rising from the ruins of war, which killed about 20 000 people.

A suicide bomber blew himself up at the gates of the presidential palace in the Somali capital Mogadishu on Monday.

Somalia’s prime minister will face a new confidence vote in Parliament on Saturday as a power struggle comes to a head.

Violence in Mogadishu killed at least 24 people on Wednesday, and thousands of Somalis fled the capital fearing a government offensive.

At least 18 people were killed in fighting on Monday in two central Somali towns where rebels battled a pro-government militia and each other.