Probe continues as death toll rises in assassination bid

The death toll in the assassination bid on Somali President Abdullahi Yusuf Ahmed has risen to 12 as investigations continue to establish who is responsible, an official of the Transitional Federal Government (TFG) said on Tuesday.

"Investigations are ongoing and a statement will be issued when it is complete," Abdirahman Dinari, the government spokesman, said.

At least six people, including Yusuf's brother Jigre Yusuf Ahmed, died instantly and up to 10 others were wounded in Monday's explosion in the town of Baidoa, the temporary seat of the TFG, as Yusuf left a building housing the interim parliament.

More bodies were later recovered from the scene and another person died of his wounds in a local hospital.

Dinari said the government could confirm that a suicide bomber caused the explosion, not a remote-controlled device.

"We are confident of this information," he said.

A reporter for the Mogadishu-based HornAfrik Radio, Mukhtar Muhammad Atosh, said: "I saw the remains of the suicide bomber still scattered at the scene of the explosion."

The remains have not been moved from the scene and the identity of the bomber remains a mystery, he said.

"If confirmed that it was a suicide bomber then the Somali problem has entered a new and more dangerous stage," said Matt Bryden, a regional analyst.

"In all these years [of civil war] there has been no case of suicide bombing in Somalia."

Bryden said there had been "conflicting reports emanating from Baidao about the incident, and there are likely to be many more. I hope the TFG will call for outside help in the investigation to remove any doubts about the origin of this explosion."

Atosh said 12 people had been confirmed dead and 19 others injured. At least seven people suspected of involvement in Monday's explosion are in police custody, he said.

The United Nations Secretary-General's Special Representative for Somalia, François Fall, condemned the assassination attempt on the president.

Speaking on behalf of the UN and all member states of the European Union, Fall said: "We condemn this attack on the peace process and call on all Somalis to resolve their differences peacefully."

ah/mw