Army denies coup attempt as African leader assassinated

The president of tiny African state Guinea-Bissau was assassinated in his palace today hours after a bomb killed his rival, the head of the military.

Despite the deaths of the country's two most powerful men, the army insisted there was no coup and a statement broadcast on state radio attributed President Joao Bernardo "Nino" Vieira's death to an "isolated" group of unidentified soldiers now being hunted by the armed forces.