An apparent bid to assassinate Somalia's interim president has killed four people and injured several outside parliament in the town of Baidoa.
An apparent bid to assassinate Somalia's interim president has killed at least five people outside parliament in the town of Baidoa.
The suspected car bomb went off soon after a convoy left carrying President Abdullahi Yusuf Ahmed, but the leader is said to have escaped unharmed.
A suspected car bomb went off soon after a convoy left carrying President Abdullahi Yusuf, but the leader is said to have escaped unharmed.
A second bomb exploded near the first, and at least five cars were on fire outside the parliament building.
A second bomb exploded near the first, setting at least five cars ablaze.
Mr Yusuf has strained relations with an Islamist group which controls much of southern Somalia.
The interim government controls only Baidoa and a small area around it.
The interim government controls only Baidoa and a small area around it.
The capital, Mogadishu, and much of southern Somalia are run by the Union of Islamic Courts, which has tense relations with the government.
The Union of Islamic Courts deny US accusations that they are linked to al-Qaeda.
Pool of blood
Pool of blood
A Somali police official in Baidoa said he had counted four dead bodies.
A Somali police official in Baidoa said he had counted four dead bodies.
The interim president's rule is largely confined to Baidoa
"I saw four dead people lying in front of the parliament in a pool of blood," Shirre Moalim Nur, deputy police commissioner for the Bay region around Baidoa, told AFP news agency.
"I saw four dead people lying in front of the parliament in a pool of blood," Shirre Moalim Nur, deputy police commissioner for the Bay region around Baidoa, told AFP news agency.
Shino Moalim, a government official, also put the death toll at four, the Associated Press news agency reports.
Shino Moalim, a government official, also put the death toll at four, the Associated Press news agency reports.
Other officials say those killed were guards and civilians and that no MPs had been hurt.
Somali Foreign Minister Ismail Hurre said the attack had been an assassination attempt on the president.
Somali Foreign Minister Ismail Hurre said the attack had been an assassination attempt on the president.
Speaking to Reuters news agency from the Kenyan capital, Nairobi, he added that the president was "fine".
Prime Minister Ali Mohammed Ghedi told the BBC that President Yusuf was alive and well.
Abdirahman Dinari, government spokesman in Baidoa, confirmed Mr Yusuf Ahmed had escaped the blast and was "safe".
He said that five people had been killed.
Local journalist Mohamed Adawe said the blast came 10 minutes after the president had delivered a speech.
Local journalist Mohamed Adawe said the blast came 10 minutes after the president had delivered a speech.
The parliament was meeting to approve Mr Ghedi's new government. MPs have been debating whether the government should share power with the UIC. They have held peace talks but have not yet reached an agreement.
President Yusuf wants foreign peacekeepers sent to Somalia - a suggestion strongly rejected by the Islamists, who say they can take care of security in a country which has not had an effective national government for 15 years.
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