THE military regime in the Indian Ocean republic of the Comoro Islands has put down a coup attempt. Former prime minister Abbas Djoussouf and local radio reports said on Wednesday that several members of the armed forces had been arrested, including Abderrahmane Abdallah, the son of Comoran president Ahmed Abdallah who was assassinated in 1989. Gunfire resounded early on Tuesday from the Kandani military camp, four kilometres north of Moroni, before island communications were cut for a while, said Djoussouf, who was himself ousted in a coup in April last year. No casualty details were immediately reported. The current regime is led by armed forces chief of staff Colonel Azali Assoumani, whose government has no international recognition and who has become the target of parts of the military. The military action was the 19th foiled or successful coup since three islands in the Comoros archipelago became independent from France in 1975.