MOGADISHU (AFP) - Somalia's Islamist Shebab militants killed at least 19 people when five gunmen detonated a bomb before storming a popular seaside restaurant in the capital Mogadishu, police said on Friday (Jan 22).

"They killed nearly 20 people, including women and children," Somali police officer Mohamed Abdirahman said, describing it as a "barbaric and brutal attack against innocent civilians".

After a huge explosion, gunmen burst into the restaurant on Thursday evening as diners were sitting down for their evening meal.

The Al-Qaeda-linked Shebab have claimed responsibility for the attack, in which four of their gunmen were also killed, and one captured.