Islamic Barbarians busy in MOGADISHU-A car bomb exploded in the seat of Somalia's virtually powerless government Monday, killing 11 people, including the president's brother, in an apparent assassination attempt, officials said.
President Abdullahi Yusuf escaped unharmed, government spokesman Abdirahman Dinari said.
There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attack in Baidoa, the only town controlled by the government. But if it is linked to an Islamic militia that has seized control of much of southern Somalia, it could cause peace talks between the two sides to fall apart.
The bomb exploded outside a parliament building where Yusuf had been giving a speech about 10 minutes earlier, said Mohamed Adawe, a journalist who witnessed the blast.
Somali Foreign Minister Ismail Mohamed Hurre said in Nairobi, Kenya, that 11 people were killed.
"This explosion was intended to kill the president, but he escaped and he is safe," Dinari said. Eight cars were burned in the blast, including three from Yusuf's convoy.
Somalia has not had an effective central government since 1991, when warlords overthrew dictator Mohamed Siad Barre and then turned on one another, pulling the country into anarchy. |
