MOGADISHU – Unknown gunmen thought to be Al Shabaab members have shot and killed a senior local government official in Somalia’s capital Mogadishu.
The deceased officer, whose name has not be released was gunned down by young men armed with pistols in the city’s second market, according to witness said.
The killers have immediately escaped from the crime scene.
Tens of security soldiers arrived at the spot, and launched an operation to arrest the culprits.
No group says it has carried out the assassination.
But, such attacks are often claimed by Al Qaeda linked Al Shabaab fighters in the capital.
The homegrown extremist group of Al Shabaab has lost some of its territory under pressure from the African Union force, which numbers more than 20,000, and from Somalia’s security forces.
But al-Shabab continues to carry out deadly attacks in the capital and elsewhere.
In late September, at least 23 people were killed and dozens injured after extremist fighters stormed army base in Barire town, some 50km southwest of Mogadishu.
