Mogadishu: Somalia's Al Shabaab insurgents said they had assassinated a former lawmaker and his bodyguard and wounded another MP in a drive-by shooting in Mogadishu today to show the government they remained a threat.
Gunmen in a moving car opened fire as the lawmaker drove through the centre of the city, before racing off, witnesses said. MP Mustafa Mayow was wounded in the attack.
"The government say they have eradicated the Shabaab from Mogadishu, but this is to show that we are here and active," Shabaab spokesman Abdiaziz Abu Musab told AFP.
The Al Qaeda-affiliated Al Shabaab rebels are fighting to overthrow the country's internationally-backed government.
At least five lawmakers have been killed in Mogadishu this year. The extremists say they are targeting MPs as they allowed the deployment of foreign troops on Somali soil.
Recent Al Shabaab attacks in Somalia have targeted key government and security sites in an apparent bid to discredit claims by the authorities and African Union troops that they are winning the war.
On Wednesday, a Shabaab suicide bomber killed four security guards and bystanders when they rammed a car packed with explosives into a United Nations convoy.
The Shabaab have also stepped up operations in neighbouring Kenya, and on Tuesday massacred 36 non-Muslim quarry workers in a Kenyan border town.
Gunmen in a moving car opened fire as the lawmaker drove through the centre of the city, before racing off, witnesses said. MP Mustafa Mayow was wounded in the attack.
"The government say they have eradicated the Shabaab from Mogadishu, but this is to show that we are here and active," Shabaab spokesman Abdiaziz Abu Musab told AFP.
At least five lawmakers have been killed in Mogadishu this year. The extremists say they are targeting MPs as they allowed the deployment of foreign troops on Somali soil.
Recent Al Shabaab attacks in Somalia have targeted key government and security sites in an apparent bid to discredit claims by the authorities and African Union troops that they are winning the war.
Advertisement
The Shabaab have also stepped up operations in neighbouring Kenya, and on Tuesday massacred 36 non-Muslim quarry workers in a Kenyan border town.
Advertisement
COMMENTS
Advertisement
West Indies vs South Africa 2nd Test Live Score Updates Why Morne Morkel Was Chosen Over Two Ex-India Stars For Coaching Job - Report Reveals Reason Mpox Vaccine Likely Months Away As Africa Health Body Declares Emergency Nurse Raped, Killed On Way Home, Body Found 9 Days Later In UP "Don't Expect Anything From Me": Kolkata Hospital's New Principal Loses Cool This US City Has Been Declared America's Least Desirable, Survey Finds Ukraine, Russia Both Claim Advances In Kursk Region Gaza Ceasefire Talks Underway In Qatar As Deaths Top 40,000 Trump To Hold Press Conference, His Campaign Adds Senior Advisers Track Latest News Live on NDTV.com and get news updates from India and around the world.