HARGEISA, Somalia Oct 29 (Garowe Online) - At least 23 people were killed Wednesday in Somalia's northern regions of Somaliland and Puntland in a string of coordinated suicide bombings, Radio Garowe reported.

In Hargeisa, the capital of Somaliland regions, 20 people were killed when suicide bombers attacked the presidential compound, the UN's local offices and the Ethiopian government's trade office, witnesses said.

The personal secretary of Somaliland President Dahir Riyale, an individual named Dahir Ali, was killed in the explosion at the presidential compound alongside several soldiers.

Government officials and hospital sources in Hargeisa told Radio Garowe that at least 29 people were being treated for various wounds at local hospitals.

Vehicles laced with explosives were used in all three attacks, according to witnesses and officials.

Unconfirmed reports said a Somaliland lawmaker was among the dead.

Riyale, Somaliland's leader, told the BBC Somali Service that local police are investigating the terror attacks and urged the public to support the security forces.

Composed of Somalia's northwestern regions, Somaliland unilaterally declared independence in 1991 but has not gained international recognition.

Today's deadly bombings mark the first suicide attacks on record for the relatively stable regions in Somaliland.

Puntland bombings

Suicide bombers driving two cars laden with explosives drove into two separate government compounds in the self-governing region of Puntland, northeastern Somalia.

The two bombers and a female victim were killed in the explosions that rocked Puntland Intelligence Service (PIS) compounds in the port of Bossaso, the region's commercial hub.

Gen. Adde Muse, the Puntland leader, told reporters before flying out of Bender Qassim International Airport in Bossaso that the attackers are "not from Puntland."

He claimed that Puntland officials know the identity of the suicide attackers, adding: "The problems in southern Somalia have now reached Puntland and Somaliland."

PIS security forces stormed the house of a local cleric and detained him as a suspect, with unconfirmed reports saying the man was "wounded" when he was arrested.

There are ongoing efforts led by clan elders to release the cleric from jail, the sources added.

No group has claimed responsibility for the suicide bombings in Somalia's most stable regions, but al Shabaab insurgents were behind a Bossaso explosion that killed 20 people last February.

Source: Garowe Online