DILI, EAST TIMOR -- Rebel soldiers attacked the home of President Jose Ramos-Horta early Monday and shot him in the stomach. The Nobel Peace Prize-winning leader was in "stable condition" after the shooting, the prime minister said.

East Timor television reported that Prime Minister Xanana Gusmao's home also came under fire but that no one was hurt, raising the possibility that the rebels soldiers may have been staging a coup attempt.

The events plunged the nation into fresh uncertainty after a flare-up of violence in 2006 killed 37 people, displaced more than 150,000 others and led to the collapse of the government.

Two cars carrying rebel soldiers passed Ramos-Horta's house on the outskirts of Dili at around 7 a.m. local time and began shooting, said army spokesman Maj. Domingos da Camara. The guards returned fire.

Rebel leader Alfredo Reinado was killed in the attack, as was one of Ramos-Horta's guards, da Camara said.

Reinado was due to go on trial in absentia for his alleged role in deadly shootings between police and military units during the violence in 2006. He had evaded captured and refused repeated pleas by the government to surrender.

Australian-led troops restored calm following the 2006 turmoil and peaceful elections were held in which Ramos-Horta was elected president. Low-level violence had continued in the country of 1 million people since then.

Deposed Prime Minister Mari Alkatiri has maintained that Ramos-Horta's government is illegitimate. His political party immediately condemned Monday's attack in a statement released to the media.

East Timor, a former Portuguese colony, gained independence in 2002 after voting in a U.N.-sponsored ballot to break free from more than two decades of brutal Indonesian occupation.

ASSOCIATED PRESS