Medical officials: 20 killed in explosion in western Somalia town

October 6th, 2009 CHENNAI - Two people were killed and nine others injured when an explosion rocked the Cholavanthan railway station near Madurai in Tamil Nadu Tuesday evening, police said. "Paramasivam, a beetlenut vendor, and Ram, a transporter, were killed in the blast," Deputy Inspector General (Madurai) P.

October 6th, 2009 CHENNAI - At least two people were killed and four injured when an explosion rocked the Cholavanthan railway station near Madurai Tuesday evening, police said, adding that the nature of the blast was under investigation. The explosion occured just as the Myladuthurai-Tirunellvelli passenger train was entering the station at about 6 p.m., the Madurai police said.

October 3rd, 2009 Militant: 3 aid workers freed in SomaliaMOGADISHU, Somalia — Kidnappers on Saturday released three foreign aid workers they had held in Somalia for more than two months, an Islamic militia commander said. Hizbul Islam commander Sheik Abdullahi Nor said he saw the three former hostages board a small plane Saturday in the southwestern Somali town of Luq.

September 21st, 2009 10 killed in Somalia border fight, witnesses sayMOGADISHU, Somalia — Somali insurgents attacked a town near the border with Ethiopia, killing at least 10 people, witnesses and officials said. Daud Omar, a resident in the Somali border town Yed, said militants from the al-Shabab insurgent group clashed with government soldiers late Sunday.

August 20th, 2009 15 dead in Somalia fighting, witnesses sayMOGADISHU, Somalia — Fighting between government soldiers and Islamic insurgents killed at least 15 people in central Somalia on Thursday as the warring sides tried to gain ground in strategic towns. Witnesses also reported seeing troops from neighboring Ethiopia roll into the country — a development that would enrage insurgents who saw Ethiopia as an occupying force after it helped drive out Islamists in 2006.

August 20th, 2009 40 dead in Somalia fighting, witnesses sayMOGADISHU, Somalia — Fighting between government soldiers and Islamic insurgents killed at least 40 people in central Somalia on Thursday as the warring sides tried to gain ground in strategic towns. Witnesses also reported seeing troops from neighboring Ethiopia roll into the country — a development that would enrage insurgents who saw Ethiopia as an occupying force after it helped drive out Islamists in 2006.

July 26th, 2009 Somali gov't takes control of key western townMOGADISHU, Somalia — With a show of force, Somali government troops on Sunday took full control of the strategic western town where the national security minister was killed last month. Hundreds of heavily armed government soldiers rolled into the town of Belet Weyne in 18 pickups with machine-guns just before dawn, resident Abshir Haji Damal told The Associated Press.

July 12th, 2009 Minn. mom says missing son, 20, killed in SomaliaMINNEAPOLIS — The mother of a 20-year-old Somali man missing from Minneapolis says her son has been killed in Somalia. Abayte Ahmed (ah-BYE'-tee ah-med) said Sunday through an interpreter that she and her husband identified their son, Jamal Bana (BAH'-nuh), in a photo showing a dead body in Somalia.

June 18th, 2009 Somalia's president says al-Qaida is behind attackMOGADISHU, Somalia — Somalia's president says al-Qaida is behind a suicide bombing that killed the national security minister in a western Somali town. Sheik Sharif Sheik Ahmed says a senior Somali diplomat also died in Thursday's attack in Belet Weyne that killed at least 20 people.

June 18th, 2009 Somalia president: al-Qaida behind suicide bombingMOGADISHU, Somalia — Somalia's president says al-Qaida is behind a suicide bombing that killed the national security minister in a western Somali town. Sheik Sharif Sheik Ahmed says a senior Somali diplomat also died in Thursday's attack in Belet Weyne that killed at least 20 people.

June 9th, 2009 UN: Atrocities in Somalia force 100,000 to fleeMOGADISHU, Somalia — Somalis are experiencing near-daily atrocities, including rape, the shelling of civilian areas and fighting that has forced more than 100,000 to flee their homes since May, the U.N. refugee agency said Tuesday.

June 1st, 2009 4 police officers killed in Somalia roadside bombMOGADISHU, Somalia — Police in Somalia say a roadside bomb in the capital has killed at least four police officers and several civilians. Somali police chief Abdi Hassan Awale said it was not immediately clear how many civilians died in Monday's attack in Mogadishu.

April 28th, 2009 Somali gunmen release 2 abducted aid workersMOGADISHU, Somalia — Gunmen released two European aid workers on Tuesday after holding them for nearly 10 days in southwestern Somalia. Rab Dhure District Commissioner Sheik Mohamed Kheyr said elders and an extremist Islamic group helped secure the release of the employees of Doctors without Borders.

April 26th, 2009 Insurgents attack AU bases in Somalia, 3 killedMOGADISHU, Somalia — An official says insurgents have attacked two African Union peacekeepers' bases in the Somali capital, and a witness says at least three people were killed. Burundi peacekeeping spokesman Lt.

January 23rd, 2009 MOGADISHU - A car bomb attack in this Somali capital killed at least 14 civilians Saturday, according to agencies' reports. The attack took place near a base of African Union peacekeepers.