Somalia: Bomb under car seat kills TV anchor in Mogadishu

MOGADISHU, Somalia - A car bomb has killed a Somali TV journalist in Mogadishu on Monday evening, the latest in series of attacks against the media workers in the country, Garowe Online reports.

Mohamed Ibrahim Gabow working for the London-based Kalsan TV sustained severe wounds after an explosive planted under his car's seat exploded. He was rushed to a hospital, where was pronounced dead.

Late Gabow was diving at around a fish market in the capital's Wadajir district at the time of the blast while on his to home, along with a media colleague and two children who survived from the car bomb, according to a coworker.

No group immediately claimed responsibility for the attack, however, Al Shabaab often kills civil servants, employees of the foreign aid agencies and journalists in such car bombs in Mogadishu.

Somalia has been on the top list of the most dangerous countries in the world for journalists in the past six years due to the impunity and the insecurity caused by the long-running conflict.

Violence restricts journalistic access to large areas of the country under Al Shabaab control, and retaliatory attacks against the local reporters are common.

The Mogadishu-based government and Federal Member states actively engage in censorship and prosecution of critical voices, while those who commit crimes against journalists enjoy impunity.

GAROWE ONLINE