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| Version 4 | Version 5 |
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| Somali president describes attack | Somali president describes attack |
| (20 minutes later) | |
| The interim President of Somalia, Abdullahi Yusuf, has described how he narrowly escaped an assassination attempt by a suicide bomber. | The interim President of Somalia, Abdullahi Yusuf, has described how he narrowly escaped an assassination attempt by a suicide bomber. |
| President Yusuf told the BBC the bomber rammed a car packed with explosives into a presidential convoy in the central town of Baidoa. | President Yusuf told the BBC the bomber rammed a car packed with explosives into a presidential convoy in the central town of Baidoa. |
| Mr Yusuf said he escaped his burning car, but added that his brother and three bodyguards were killed. | Mr Yusuf said he escaped his burning car, but added that his brother and three bodyguards were killed. |
| Somalia's foreign minister said six attackers died in an ensuing gunbattle. | Somalia's foreign minister said six attackers died in an ensuing gunbattle. |
| The president had addressed a meeting of the country's transitional parliament only minutes before the attack, which left 18 people wounded. One of those killed was a Ugandan security officer. | The president had addressed a meeting of the country's transitional parliament only minutes before the attack, which left 18 people wounded. One of those killed was a Ugandan security officer. |
| Blame | |
| It is not clear who carried out the attack. The Union of Islamic Courts (UIC), the Islamist alliance which controls much of the south of the country, including the capital, Mogadishu, has condemned it. | It is not clear who carried out the attack. The Union of Islamic Courts (UIC), the Islamist alliance which controls much of the south of the country, including the capital, Mogadishu, has condemned it. |
| The suicide car hit the first car in the convoy and exploded Abdullahi Yusuf href="/1/hi/world/africa/5357412.stm" class="">Eyewitness: Baidoa rocked href="/1/hi/in_pictures/5357138.stm" class="">In pictures: Baidoa blasts | |
| The group's chairman, Sharif Shaikh Ahmed, blamed Ethiopia, saying it wanted a pretext to send troops into Somalia. | |
| Foreign Minister Ismail Mohammed Hurre said from Nairobi that they did not want to blame any group at this stage but said the perpetrators were clearly opposed to the peace process. | |
| But a governemnt spokesman appealed for help with the investigation and suggested al-Qaeda could be behind it. | |
| "We really do not have the expertise to uncover the whole attack that was well organised by the same groups that are carrying out attacks in Iraq and Afghanistan," government spokesman Abdirahman Mohamed Nur Dinari told AFP news agency. | |
| The interim government controls only Baidoa and a small area around it. | |
| Peacekeepers | |
| "The attack was a suicide car bomb against me," President Yusuf told the BBC Somali language radio service. | "The attack was a suicide car bomb against me," President Yusuf told the BBC Somali language radio service. |
| "The suicide car hit the first car in the convoy and exploded." | "The suicide car hit the first car in the convoy and exploded." |
| The attack came as MPs started a key session to approve the new cabinet. | The attack came as MPs started a key session to approve the new cabinet. |
| Despite the blast, the MPs went ahead with their meeting in a converted warehouse which serves as the parliament and approved the new government line-up. | Despite the blast, the MPs went ahead with their meeting in a converted warehouse which serves as the parliament and approved the new government line-up. |
| Correspondents say the audacious attack is a reminder of how weak the interim government is. | Correspondents say the audacious attack is a reminder of how weak the interim government is. |
| They say the violence is also bound to further heighten tensions in war-torn Somalia, which has not had a functioning national government for 15 years. | They say the violence is also bound to further heighten tensions in war-torn Somalia, which has not had a functioning national government for 15 years. |
| Ten days ago, Mohamed Ibrahim Habsade, the warlord who controls Baidoa, told the BBC that militiamen would eject government members by force if they did not withdraw from Baidoa peacefully. | Ten days ago, Mohamed Ibrahim Habsade, the warlord who controls Baidoa, told the BBC that militiamen would eject government members by force if they did not withdraw from Baidoa peacefully. |
| President Yusuf wants foreign peacekeepers sent to Somalia - a suggestion strongly rejected by the Islamists, who say they can take care of security. | President Yusuf wants foreign peacekeepers sent to Somalia - a suggestion strongly rejected by the Islamists, who say they can take care of security. |
| Meanwhile, a group of Italian Catholic nuns are being evacuated from the capital, Mogadishu, after one of their elderly colleagues was shot dead on Sunday by gunmen. The UIC has condemned the killing. | Meanwhile, a group of Italian Catholic nuns are being evacuated from the capital, Mogadishu, after one of their elderly colleagues was shot dead on Sunday by gunmen. The UIC has condemned the killing. |