Four car bombs have exploded in mainly Shi'ite areas of the Iraqi capital, killing at least 13 people and wounding more than 70 others.

Authorities say the first blast Tuesday in Baghdad's Sadr City hit a group of laborers waiting for work. The bombing killed at least eight people and wounded more than 20 others.

Another explosion in the same district killed at least two people and wounded at least a dozen more.

Two bombs exploded later in northern Baghdad, killing three people in the city's Shula and Hurriya districts.

Somali militant group al-Shabab has claimed responsibility for a suicide attack on an Ethiopian army base in Somalia Tuesday.

Witnesses say the bomber rammed a truck filled with explosives into a government compound in the town of Beledweyne, about 30 kilometers from the Ethiopian border.

The building houses Somali government officials and Ethiopian troops, who helped the government seize control of Beledweyne from al-Shabab last month.

A series of bomb attacks by Nigeria's radical Islamist sect Boko Haram is challenging President Goodluck Jonathan's government. The pace of the bombings has picked up in recent weeks, with attacks on police stations in the northern city of Kano and a Christmas Day suicide bombing at a Catholic church near the capital, Abuja.

Hundreds of rebels in northeast India have laid down their arms as part of a cease-fire agreement with the government.

Nearly 700 insurgents wearing fatigues handed over automatic rifles and other weapons during a ceremony Tuesday in Guwahati, the capital of Assam state.

The insurgents are members of nine of the more than 20 ethnic rebel groups that have been fighting for greater autonomy, claiming the government has been exploiting the northeast's rich natural resources. Thousands have been killed in insurgency-related violence.

An Indian anti-terrorism investigator says Mumbai police have arrested two men involved in the triple blasts that hit India's financial hub last July.

However, the investigator, Rakesh Maria, said Monday the top suspect, Yasin Bhatkal, remains at large. Bhatkal is a leader in the Indian Mujahideen.

Authorities say the back-to-back blasts killed 27 people and wounded more than 100. Two of the blasts occurred in the south of the city near the popular Opera House and famed jewelry market Zaveri Bazaar. The other blast hit the crowded Dadar neighborhood in the center of the city.

Insurgents in Somalia say a drone aircraft strike has killed an al-Qaida operative fighting alongside the al-Shabab rebels.

An al-Shabab spokesman identified the fighter as British passport holder Bilal al-Berjawi. He said drone-fired missiles hit Berjawi's car south of Mogadishu on Saturday.

There has been no independent confirmation.

The United States has authorized covert missions against insurgents in the Horn of Africa, but does not comment officially on drone attacks.

People in the nearby town of Elasha reported hearing at least two explosions.

Witnesses say multiple explosions have rocked the northern Nigerian city of Kano.

A local journalist tells VOA that the blasts went off Friday afternoon and damaged at least one police station.

Other witnesses report hearing gunfire and seeing smoke rising from different parts of the city.

Nigeria is trying to cope with a wave of bombings and shootings in the north, most of it blamed on the radical Islamist sect Boko Haram. The shadowy group has claimed responsibility for several of the deadly attacks.

Officials say African Union and Somali government troops have seized positions from militant group al-Shabab in the capital, Mogadishu.

The AU force, known as AMISOM, said Friday that it had driven al-Shabab fighters from Mogadishu University and the Barakat Cemetery, areas on the city's northern outskirts.

Witnesses in the area reported hearing heavy gunfire around dawn Friday. Reports from the area say at least three government soldiers were killed when their vehicle was attacked.

The government ultimatum given to Nigeria’s inspector general of police expires today. President Goodluck Jonathan gave Hafiz Ringhim until Friday to re-arrest the alleged mastermind of the bombing of a Catholic church on Christmas Day, or lose his job.

Kabiru Sokoto was being escorted to another police station outside Abuja on January 18 when his gang members attacked and freed him. The police commissioner who ordered the transfer has been suspended, and police say they are investigating the incident.