At least 16 people have been killed and 50 others wounded after two suicide bombers attacked a restaurant and a hotel in the town of Baidoa in Somalia, police and witnesses said.

A man wearing an explosive device walked into Beder restaurant on Friday and blew himself up, killing multiple people and wounding others, police officer Mahad Mohamed told the DPA news agency on Saturday.

Shortly after the first blast, another bomber blew himself up at the Bilan hotel, killing more than six people.

The restaurant and hotel are both popular with civilians and local government officials.

Armed group al-Shabab has claimed responsibility for the attacks in Baidoa on Andalus, a pro-al-Shabab radio station.

It said one blast targeted a hotel owned by a former Somali minister, Mohamed Aden Fargeti, one of several candidates running for the presidency of the region in November's election.

The blasts came on the eve of the one-year anniversary of a suicide truck bombing in the capital Mogadishu that killed more than 500 people.

Al Jazeera

BDST: 1316 HRS, OCT 14, 2018
SI