Grenade thrown at busy Somalia hotel, deaths feared

MOGADISHU, June 27 (Reuters) A man threw a grenade at a busy hotel in the central Somali town of Baidoa today, almost certainly killing some people there, witnesses said.

''There were so many people at the time outside the hotel drinking tea and coffee. There must be some fatalities but I don't know how many,'' Baidoa resident Shire Mohamed said by telephone.

The attacker tossed the grenade from a vehicle at the hotel, which houses lawmakers, then drove away.

Somalia's parliament sits in Baidoa.

It was the latest in a wave of guerrilla-style strikes on Somali government targets. Authorities blame militant Islamists, who were ousted over the New Year after controlling Mogadishu and much of south Somalia for six months.

Mohamed said legislators were among those seated outside the hotel during the attack.

Officials had no immediate information on the incident.

REUTERS CS KP2355