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Suicide blast at Somali Premier's house

MOGADISHU: A suicide bomber in a large car blew himself up on Sunday in front of Prime Minister Ali Mohamed Gedi's house, killing an unknown number of persons and injuring others, officials said.

Mr. Gedi was not injured and has been taken to a safe location, said Paddy Ankunda, spokesman of the African Union peacekeeping force in Mogadishu.

Mr. Ankunda said a number of persons were killed and others wounded. African Union troops are busy evacuating the wounded, he said. An Associated Press reporter saw five bodies lying on the street outside the Prime Minister's house.

Mr. Ankunda said within minutes of the explosion, peacekeepers sealed off the area around Mr. Gedi's house and took charge of security. The peacekeepers are based at President Abdullahi Yusuf's residence, the main international airport and Mogadishu port.

``It is a terrorist operation,'' he told AP.

``I can confirm that the Prime Minister is safe and unharmed and our troops evacuated him from the explosion site to a safe location,'' Mr. Ankunda said. — AP

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