Mogadishu, 26 April-(ANA)-A mortar attack on Somalia's parliament in Mogadishu has missed the building but killed eight people, most of them in nearby houses, officials say.
MPs had just passed a national budget when the attack happened at midday although the speaker and prime minister were not present.
A witness said at least three children were killed when mortar bombs began to "rain" on his neighbourhood.
Parliament had been based at Baidoa but returned to Mogadishu this year.
In another development, the president of Somalia's transitional government, Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed, said he welcomed the return of a senior Islamist opposition leader.
Sheikh Aweys has said he will not talk to the government until African Union peacekeepers quit the war-torn country. (ANA)