Somalia: Mogadishu Airport staff shot dead, new NISA official appointed

MOGADISHU, Somalia- Assailants armed with pistols have gunned down an official working for Mogadishu's Aden Adde International Airport in the capital on Saturday evening, Garowe Online reports.

The official was identified as Hassan Tohow, has been shot dead by pistol-wielding men thought to be Al Shabaab members at Dabakayo-madow neighborhood in Mogadishu's Daharkenley district, according to an eyewitness.

Late Tohow was assassinated as he was heading to his resident in Daharkenley district, considered to be one of the unsecured areas in Mogadishu.

The gunmen fled the scene shortly after killing the official, Somali security forces arrived the scene and started search operations for the suspects.

No group has yet claimed responsibility for the killing, as the motive behind the murder and the identity of the assassins remain unclear.

Over the past few weeks, Mogadishu has witnessed numerous assassinations against security forces and government officials carried out by unknown gunmen, with Al Qaida linked Al Shabaab group claiming part of the attacks.

-- New NISA official

The head of the National Intelligence and Security Agency (NISA) in Banadir region, Abdi Hakim Fareey was officially removed from his post through a presidential decree on Saturday.

The move came amid a suicide bomb blast that struck a restaurant near prison run by NISA in the capital Mogadishu, killing 3 people and wounding others.  

Caretaker President has appointed Mohamed Hasan Farah as the new head of NISA in Banadir region. According to reliable sources, Fareey was removed from his post because he hails from the same clan as NISA Chief Abdulahi Gafow.

The official appointment by caretaker President contradicts with an early decree to suspend appointment and reshuffles during the transition period till the new government is established.

GAROWEONLINE