President of Somalia survives assassination attempt that kills 11

The Independent reports that on Monday President Abdullahi Yusuf, the leader of Somalia's struggling UN-backed interim government, survived an attempt on his life that claimed the lives of 11 people, including his brother. Accordingly, President Yusuf was travelling to his home in Baidoa where the Somali interim government is based, when his convoy was struck by an exploding roadside carbomb. Somalia's foreign minister, Ismail Hurre Buba, said he believed the explosion to be the first suicide bomb attack in Somalia's history. Buba also suggested the attack was linked to Al-Qaeda, although he reportedly offered no further evidence to back up his statement. The blast, which destroyed eight vehicles, three of which were in the President's convoy, occurred the day following the double murder of an Italian nun and her Somali body guard in Mogadishu. Link to the story below. -TW

Somali President Survives as convoy attack kills 11 (The Independent)