A SUICIDE bomber detonated in a restaurant in the Somali town of Baidoa and another blast struck a hotel nearby, leaving at least 16 people dead and more than 30 wounded, authorities said Saturday.

Most of the casualties were caused by the bomber who walked into the restaurant with explosives strapped around his waist, Col. Ahmed Muse told reporters.

Many of the wounded at Baidoa’s main hospital had horrific injuries, nurse Mohamed Isaq said.

The al-Qaida-linked al-Shabab extremist group claimed responsibility for the blasts via its radio arm, Andalus.

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 a day before Somalia marks the first anniversary of the deadliest attack in its history, a truck bombing that killed more than 500 people in Mogadishu.(SD-Agencies)