Rebel soldiers shot and critically wounded East Timor's president and opened fire on the prime minister Monday in a failed coup attempt in the recently independent nation. A top rebel leader was killed during one of the attacks.President Jose Ramos-Horta, a Nobel Peace laureate, was injured in the stomach and chest. He was flown to a hospital in Australia under sedation. A medical official there said doctors were hopeful he would make a "very good recovery".
Prime Minister Xanana Gusmao, escaped an attack on his motorcade unhurt.
East Timor, a nation of 1 million people, is a former Portugese colony that borders Indonesia and is off the northern coast of Australia. It gained independence in 2002 after years of Indonesian occupation.
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