The United Nations has confirmed that several people had been killed in a suicide bomber attack on the UN compound in Somalia's breakaway region of Somaliland on Wednesday.

A statement from the UN Humanitarian Resident Coordinator for Somalia said the attack, which took place at 10:00 a.m. (0700 GMT), left the UNDP compound in Hargeysa, Somaliland, badly hit.

"At approximately 10 o'clock this morning the UNDP compound in Hargeysa, Somaliland, was hit by an explosion, caused by a vehicle which forced entry into the compound. There are known casualties as well as deaths," the UN said in a statement.

"There are known casualties as well as deaths, but the numbers are currently being verified. Medical evacuation of the injured is ongoing," said the statement which was issued in Nairobi.

"The UN is aware of reports of other explosions in the Hargeysa area as well as in Puntland. These have not involved UN premises," said the statement.

Reports from Somalia said at least 21 people have been killed in a wave of coordinated car-bombings across northern Somalia. Most of the casualties were in Hargeisa, capital of the self- declared republic of Somaliland.

The presidential palace, Ethiopian embassy and UN offices were all targeted.

Somalia has been without a functioning government since 1991, when clan warlords ousted longtime dictator Mohamed Siad Barre and then turned on each other.

There is no information about who was responsible for the three attacks, which took place within seven minutes of each other.

There is a lot of anxiety around the city and cars have been blocked from approaching the three locations.

The attacks came as leaders from Kenya, Uganda, Djibouti and Ethiopia are meeting in Nairobi to discuss the Somali issue.

The Somali transitional government was formed in 2004 under a five-year transitional charter was signed in February 2004 in Nairobi between Somalia's warring factions after protracted years of negotiations in Nairobi.

The document called for a new constitution, the formation of political parties and the drawing of internal boundaries.

With only nine months left before the mandate of the transitional government expires, it has accomplished little in protecting Somali people from violence.

Somalia's north, which has been relatively calm, has tried to sever ties with the chaotic south, which includes the beleaguered capital, Mogadishu.

Puntland has a semiautonomous administration and Somaliland has long been seeking international recognition as an independent nation, separate from Somalia.

(Xinhua News Agency October 29, 2008)