Bomb Kills 2 Children in Somalia

By SALAD DUHUL
Associated Press Writer
 

MOGADISHU, Somalia A roadside bomb hidden in a pile of garbage exploded Monday, killing two children just minutes after security officials drove by, police said. Five people were arrested.

The bomb went off in northern Mogadishu, where Somali troops and their Ethiopian allies were conducting a search for hidden weapons. The target was the security convoy, police said.

"Two children were killed when a roadside bomb exploded," Mohamed Muhyadin, a spokesman for Mogadishu's mayor, told The Associated Press. "It was a cowardly attack, a terrorist act."

He said five suspects were arrested.

Islamic insurgents, along with clan militiamen, have been battling government and Ethiopian forces since they drove an Islamic movement from Mogadishu six months ago. More than 1,000 civilians have been killed and hundreds of thousands displaced.

Somalia has been mired in chaos since 1991, when warlords overthrew dictator Mohamed Siad Barre and then turned against one another, defending clan fiefdoms. The government was formed in 2004 with the help of the United Nations, but has struggled to assert any real control.

The ousted Islamic movement ruled Mogadishu and much of southern Somali for six months last year, during which they sought to impose an Islamic state.