Somalia: Civil servant killed as Govt executes Al-Shabab bomb expert

MOGADISHU, Somalia - An employee with Somalia's Ministry of Religious Affairs was killed in Mogadishu on Monday, two days after Al-Shabab killed 20 people in twin car bombings in the capital, Garowe Online reports.

Mohamed Abdi, popularly known as "Oongooye" was shot several times in the head and chest by pistol-wielding suspected militants as he walked out of his home in Deynile district and heading to his workplace, police said.

Abdi was also a lecturer at a University in Mogadishu as a second job apart from being a civil servant. It's yet unclear the motive behind the assassination and there was no immediate claim of responsibility.

An eyewitness told Garowe Online that the killers escaped the scene shortly after the shooting before the arrival of the government security forces, who later conducted a short-lived manhunt that ended with no arrests.

The murder coincides with the public execution of a senior Al-Shabab bomb expert by Somali military court after convicting him of playing a role in three car bomb blasts in Mogadishu that left a total of 26 people dead last year.

The long-chaotic seaside capital has witnessed a surge in attacks against government buildings, hotels and public places that claimed jihadist group since the election of the current president, Mohamed Abdullahi Farmajo in early 2017.

Last Saturday, militants from Al-Shabab -- which has pledged allegiance to Al-Qaeda in 2012 -- carried out a pair of car bombings outside the Presidential Palace in the capital, killing at least 20 people, including veteran journalist and soldiers.

GAROWE ONLINE