Somalia: Gunmen kill Puntland MP in Galkayo

GALKAYO, Somalia, May 8, 2015(Garowe Online)- Unidentified gunmen have shot dead a legislator with Puntland, a semiautonomous region in northern Somalia on Friday evening, the latest in string of assassinations and attacks in the region which has long been enjoying a relative stability as the south of the country faced civil war.

Officials in Galkayo, in central Somalia said that Saeed Nur Dirir, a Puntland lawmaker as well as a close ally of the region's president was killed as he stepped out of a mosque in the town.

The assassins also hurled grenades after the attack to create mayhem among the nearby people.

 There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the latest murder, however, the Al-Qaeda linked Al-Shabab group often carries out such attacks in the region which has seen waves of attacks and assassinations by the group.

Mr. Dirir is the second Puntland killed by suspected militants in Somalia this month. Gunmen have killed Adan Haji Hussein, a Puntland MP in Mogadishu last month.

Puntland, a semiautonomous region in northern Somalia has escaped Somalia's decades-old conflict, however, security there deteriorated significantly in 2014 and 2015 amid a heavy anti militants push to defeat the  Al-Shabab militants in the region.

Security experts say the gains made for the past three years seem to have all but evaporated due to the worsening security in the region.

GAROWEONLINE