Mogadishu, Oct 19 (IANS): At least 12 people were killed Saturday when a suicide bomber hit a cafe in the central Somali town of Beledweyne, close to the border with Ethiopia, a police officer said.

The suicide bomber targeted the cafe where people were gathering close to the gate of the local administration headquarters, Xinhua quoted state radio Mogadishu as saying.

"The explosion killed 12 people and more than 15 were injured, some of them severely," a police officer said.

Residents said the blast hit the eatery popular with local residents and civil servants.

Beledweyne, 300 km north of the Somali capital Mogadishu, is under the control of Somali government forces backed by African Union peacekeeping troops from Djibouti.

No group claimed responsibility for the attack but state radio Mogadishu said Al-Shabaab was thought to be behind the attack. The group held the town for several years before they were ousted in 2012.