Police in Somalia say five people were killed when a suicide bomber detonated an explosives belt near the police academy in the capital, Mogadishu.

Spokesman Sadiq Adan Ali says eight other people were wounded in the blast on Tuesday. He said the bomber targeted a restaurant frequented by police.

The Somalia-based al-Shabab extremist group often targets Mogadishu. Experts for the United Nations have warned that the al-Qaida-affiliated group is improving its explosives-making skills.

The U.N. Security Council voted last week to prevent the sale or shipment to Somalia of components of improvised explosive devices if there is ``significant risk'' they may be used to manufacture the often deadly devices.

Al-Shabab remains the most active and resilient extremist group in Africa, controlling parts of southern and central Somalia. It has fired several mortars this year at the heavily defended international airport, where the U.S. Embassy and other missions are located.