By Yassin Juma
MOGADISHU
Al-Shabaab militants on Wednesday shot dead the deputy commissioner of Wadajir, a district in the capital Mogadishu, and his driver.
"He had been tracked down by the gunmen. He was shot several times and died minutes later," Mohamed Shire, an official of the Wadajir district, told The Anadolu Agency in a phone interview.
Deputy Commissioner Abdifatah Baare and his driver were both killed in the drive-by shooting.
According to the official, the Somali police have mounted a manhunt for the attackers.
Al-Shabaab militant group has immediately claimed responsibility for the attack through its Radio Andalus and affiliated website.
The Al-Qaeda-linked group, which is waging a years-long insurgency against the Somali government, had for years controlled much of central and southern Somalia.
Recently, however, the group has ground to the African Union Mission to Somalia (AMISOM) working in coordination with Somali army troops.
Nevertheless, the group has continued to stage regular attacks on government officials and security personnel.
The fractious Horn of Africa country has remained in relative turmoil since the 1991 ouster of Siad Barre, a military dictator who had ruled the country since 1969.
