Mogadishu – Somalia’s Al-Qaeda-linked Shebab on Thursday claimed responsibility for shooting dead a lawmaker and wounding another in the latest in a surge of attacks in Mogadishu during Islam’s holy month of Ramadan.
The Shebab have vowed to continue with attacks during the Ramadan.
“This was a targeted assassination. We also wounded another MP and two body guards,” Shebab spokesman Abdulaziz Abu Musab told AFP.
According to an eyewitness account, MP Ahmed Mohamud Hayd, a former minister and a senior army commander, was killed in the capital’s port district, one of the most heavily policed areas in the heart of the city.
The lawmaker was shot when gunmen in a car opened fire as the group of people were leaving the hotel,they sprayed at the people.
“We will continue to hunt other MPs if they do not leave the apostate organisation,” Abu Musab added.
The Shebab have vowed to intensify attacks during Ramadan.
“They were going to attend a parliament session when they have come under attack, one of the lawmakers was confirmed dead,” fellow MP Abdi Bare Yusuf told reporters after the attack.
Shebab fighters fled fixed positions in Mogadishu three years ago and have since lost most large towns to a 22,000-strong UN-backed African Union force, fighting alongside government soldiers.
Shebab are known to have launched attacks in areas where key government officials are located, ar security forces as they continuously attempt to discredit claims that authorities and the African Union were winning the war.
Comments
About Author
