Sudanese prime minister survives assassination attempt

March 9 (UPI) -- Sudanese Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok escaped unharmed after his motorcade was targeted by a bomb attack Monday in Khartoum, government officials and state media said.

Hamdok, who took office last year when a pro-democracy movement forced the removal of the autocratic Omar al-Bashir, was traveling in a convoy toward his office in the Sudanese capital when it was hit with an explosion in an apparent assassination attempt, state television reported.

Hamdok later confirmed on Twitter he was safe and unharmed. He reassured the people of Sudan that Monday's incident wouldn't interfere with the country's transition but would serve as an added push toward change.

A previously unknown group calling itself the Sudanese Islamic Youth Movement claimed responsibility for the bombing in a Facebook post while providing no evidence.

Bashir, who had ruled the country since 1989, was brought down last year after a wave of protests. Following his ouster, the military agreed to share power with a civilian government headed by Hamdok.

Pro-democracy groups called the assassination attempt a "terrorist attack" and urged Sudanese to take to the streets to "protect the transitional authority."