At least six people were killed in a suicide bomb attack on Thursday near the Somali town of Baidoa, the current seat of the country's transitional government.

According to reports reaching Nairobi on Thursday, the attack occurred when three cars approached a checkpoint about five km outside Baidoa, and exploded when police tried to check them. At least six people including three suicide bombers were killed.

No one has claimed responsibility so far.

The incident occurred after a suicide bombing targeted Somali President Abdullahi Yusuf in Baidoa in September.

Tensions are high in the Horn of Africa country, where the Supreme Council of Islamic Courts (SCIC) and the transitional government are vying for control. Regional experts say the rapid expansion of the influence of SCIC has posed a serious threat to the transitional federal institutions, which already faced difficulties in extending their authority beyond Baidoa.

(Xinhua News Agency November 29, 2006)