Washington, Oct 31: A US intelligence official has said that the series of homicide bombings in Somalia on Wednesday “were probably the work of a local group that was likely facilitated by al Qaeda.”

The official described the attacks as a fairly sophisticated and complex event, which has all the attributes of an al Qaeda attack. No one has claimed responsibility for the attacks yet.

The wave of homicide bombings killed more than 20 people in northern Somalia, striking just as international leaders held talks on ending decades of deadly turmoil in this chaotic African nation.

New York - The UN Security Council condemned "in the strongest terms" on Thursday the wave of bomb attacks in Somalia that killed at least 26 people, including two staff members of the UN Development Programme.

The two staff members were Somalis who worked for the UN for years. The attacks took place Wednesday in the breakaway Somaliland and Puntland regions.

Nairobi/Mogadishu - A prominent Muslim cleric has been arrested in connection with a wave of suicide bomb attacks in Somalia, reports said Thursday.

Five car bombs ripped through the breakaway Somaliland and Puntland regions on Wednesday, killing at least 26 people.

Most of the casualties came in Somaliland's capital Hargeysa, where bombs targeted the Ethiopian embassy, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) compound, and Somaliland's presidential palace.

Mogadishu - At least 25 people have been killed in a wave of suicide car bomb attacks in Somalia, hospital officials said Wednesday.

Five near-simultaneous suicide bomb attacks, including one on an Ethiopian embassy and one on a United Nations compound, rocked the breakaway northern state of Somaliland and the semi-autonomous state of Puntland.

Hospital officials in Somaliland told Deutsche Presse-Agentur dpa that 25 people, including two foreigners, were killed in the bombings. Around 40 wounded were also being treated.

Witness Farhaan Omaye told dpa that three near-simultaneous bombs went off in in the town of Hargeysa, Somaliland in the morning.

Mogadishu - Five suicide bomb attacks, including one on an Ethiopian embassy and one on a United Nations compound, rocked Somalia Wednesday, witnesses and the UN said.

Witness Farhaan Omaye told Deutsche Presse Agentur dpa that three near-simultaneous bombs went off in in Hargeysa, in the breakaway northern state of Somaliland.

The Ethiopian embassy and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) compound were targeted, as was Somaliland's presidential palace.

Mogadishu - Five suicide bomb attacks, including one on an Ethiopian embassy and one on a UN compound, rocked Somalia Wednesday, witnesses said.

Witness Farhaan Omaye told Deutsche Presse Agentur dpa that three near-simultaneous bombs went off in in Hargeysa, in the breakaway northern state of Somaliland.

The Ethiopian embassy and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) compound were targeted, as was Somaliland's presidential palace.

Two other bombs exploded in the semi-autonomous state of Puntland at the offices of the Puntland Intelligence Service in the port town of Bosasso, witness Mohamed Ali told dpa.

There was no immediate information on casualties.