Seven people were killed and over 10 others wounded when a suicide lorry full of explosives Sunday exploded inside the compound of the interim Somali Prime Minister Ali Mohamed Gedi, in the north of the Somali capital Mogadishu, eyewitnesses confirmed to Xinhua.

"A lorry forced itself inside the compound of the prime minister and it detonated after it broke the gate, there was huge explosion and smoke started to billow from inside," Khalif Omar told Xinhua. "Nearly seven people died and more than 10 were wounded."

The Somali government security forces backed by Ethiopian troops cordoned off the area and denied access near the vicinity of the prime minister's house after the explosion.

Paddy Ankunda, the African Union spokesman, told local radio in Mogadishu that the prime minister is in a safe place.

Ali Gedi escaped a number of previous attempts on his life. He survived an attempt on his life on May 17, when a man threw a hand grenade towards his convoy but failed to explode.

There have been frequent random killing of civilians and Somali government officials and security forces and also bomb explosions mostly roadside bombs targeting Somali government security forces and Ethiopian soldiers and AU peacekeepers in Mogadishu since Somali government declared end of major conflict in the capital late April.

Government officials blame insurgent groups for the upsurge in violence in the capital ahead of much awaited national reconciliation conference expected to be held in Mogadishu in mid June.

Somalia has been without an effective national government since the overthrow of former ruler Mohamed Siyad Barre until the current transitional government was formed in the Kenyan capital Nairobi in 2004.

(Xinhua News Agency June 4, 2007)