Mogadishu, Aug 1 (IANS): Suspected Islamist gunmen Friday shot dead a Somali member of parliament, Aden Mohamed Madeer, in a drive-by shooting in the capital Mogadishu, police and witnesses said.
Gunmen in a vehicle sprayed bullets on the lawmaker in the Hamarweyne district of Mogadishu. Madeer is the fifth MP to be killed in Mogadishu this year.
"The lawmaker instantly died after the criminals shot at him from a car and they escaped... security forces are working to locate and arrest them," police officer Ali Haji told Xinhua at the scene.
Madeer was the chair of the parliamentary sub-committee for justice and had previously served as the country's justice minister.
Militant group Al Shabaab has claimed responsibility for the killing. The radical Islamist fighters previously carried out targeted killing of lawmakers in Mogadishu.
The Al Qaeda-linked extremists have increased their attacks against the Somali government and troops of the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) in recent months.