​Somalia: District official among three killed in Mogadishu drive-by shooting

MOGADISHU, Somalia- A senior district official has been shot dead in Mogadishu on Saturday in a drive-by shooting attack by suspected Islamist militants linked to Al Shabaab, Garowe Online reports.

Abdirahman Alasow was shot dead, along with two bodyguards in the Wadajir district in the morning by gunmen who pulled up near his car, said Mohamed Hussein, a Somali Police officer.

Hussein said that late Alasow was the secretary of Wadajir district administration had been killed when gunmen in a minibus blocked his route and sprayed the car with bullets near Mogadishu Airport.

Witnesses said the armed men fled in a car after firing at the vehicle.

No group has so far claimed responsibility of the murder of the official, however, local authorities accuse the Al Qaida-linked Al shabaab group behind the targeted assassination.

This attack comes amid security deterioration and surge of attacks in the capital in the past few weeks.

Somali government is yet to comment on the drive-by shooting in the capital that claimed the live of the official, the latest in series of targeted killings against government officials and elders in the capital. 

GAROWEONLINE