Six people were killed Monday when a roadside bomb targeting a government vehicle exploded in central Somalia, witnesses and an official said.

"Four people died on the spot and two others died on their way to the hospital," said Osman Adan, who runs a pharmacy near the scene of the explosion.

Several other witnesses confirmed the toll in Beledwein, a relatively sleepy regional capital that has escaped much of the bloodletting in the capital Mogadishu.

Hiraan regional governor Yusuf Ahmed Hagar blamed Islamist insurgents fighting the government for the attack that also wounded at least 26 people in Beledwein township.

"We are very much concerned about the explosion that killed many civilians in Beledwein today. It is unfortunate that insurgents are planting bombs in the civilian sites," Hagar added.

Islamists, accused of ties with Muslim extremist groups, have taken control of towns in recent months in an apparent show of determination to regain power across the country.

The government, formed in Kenya in October 2004, has been trying to launch peace talks, but has yet to make convincing progress.

Guerrilla fighting has killed thousands of people and forced hundreds of thousands to flee mainly from Mogadishu, the epicentre of clashes.

The Islamists were run out of south and central Somalia in early 2007 by Ethiopian forces.

Somalia has lacked an effective government since the 1991 ousting of dictator Mohamed Siad Barre, which paved the way for factional clashes that have defied numerous bids to restore stability.

Source: AFP, Apr 07, 2008

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