Hiiraan Online
Saturday, July 25, 2015
MOGADISHU (HOL) ---A Somali lawmaker was shot dead in a drive-by shooting in the Somali capital Saturday, the latest in series of infrequent attacks targeting the country’s legislative body members, officials said.
Abdullahi Hussein Mohamud Bantu was killed in Wadajir district after gunmen travelling in a car blocked his way, spraying bullets on his car. His bodyguard was also killed in the attack which highlights the security challenges facing members of the Somali parliament. At least ten MPs have been killed since last year.
Mr. Bantu has replaced his father, himself an MP who died of natural illness in Mogadishu in April this year.
The area in which the MP was killed has been the scene of multiple murder incidents, mostly journalists.
The Al-Qaeda linked Al-Shabab group has claimed the responsibility for the latest attack.
Somali parliamentarians often complain of insecurity in the Somali capital as militants stepped up attacks against them. Al-Shabab which is waging years of insurgency in Somalia has vowed more attacks against the parliamentarians.
The attack has shattered a period of calm in Mogadishu after Somalia's government which is struggling to stop deadly attacks by Al-Shabab fighters deployed troops across the capital, inspecting cars and frisk passengers, a move the city residents believe contributed to the recent decline of the subsequent militants attacks.