Somali government base attacked

Somalia has seen a surge in fighting, despite a ceasefire pact last month Insurgents in Somalia have launched a rocket and mortar attack on the southern town of Baidoa, seat of the transitional parliament. It was the first time Baidoa, the only town fully under government control, had been attacked since late 2006. A soldier was killed and six people wounded in the attack on the airport and presidential palace, witnesses say. Al-Shabab, a radical wing of the Islamist Alliance for the Re-Liberation of Somalia, claimed responsibility. Al-Shabab has rejected a ceasefire signed with some Islamist leaders until Ethiopian troops leave the country. Ethiopia helped the government oust Islamists from Mogadishu and much of southern Somalia in 2006. A military official said insurgents armed with rocket-propelled grenades and machine... [read full story]