26 die after luggage explodes

A piece of luggage, apparently filled with gunpowder, exploded on a cross-country public bus in Somalia today, killing 26 passengers, a Red Crescent official said.

The bus caught fire near Halgan, 150 miles north of Mogadishu, after leaving Bulo Burte for the regional capital, Beleteuin, said Abdulleh Abdi Ali, a volunteer with the Somali Red Crescent Society.