Blasts Kill 11 Outside Somalia Parliament
18 September 2006
Somalia's foreign minister says at least 11 people were killed in an apparent assassination attempt on Somali Interim President Abdullahi Yusuf Monday.
Officials say the president's brother was among those killed when two explosions went off outside the Somali parliament building in Baidoa.
The first blast, a car bomb, went off as the president's motorcade drove by. A second explosion went off a short time later. Officials say the president and lawmakers were unhurt in the attack.
Several people were critically injured in the blasts, which also destroyed several cars in the vicinity.
The president had come to parliament seeking approval of his newly-appointed cabinet.
Baidoa is the seat of Somalia's weak interim government, which is struggling to maintain authority as Islamists expand their control over much of southern Somalia.
Some information for this report was provided by AFP and AP.
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