Gunmen shoot dead aid worker in Somalia

Kismayu: A local aid worker was shot dead by Somali gunmen, residents said on Sunday, the latest in a string of attacks on humanitarian workers in the region.

Mohamud Sakow, the local head of US charity Mercy Corps, was killed as he headed home in the Jamame town on Saturday night.

"Men armed with pistols shot him in the head and he died on the spot," resident Hussein Ali said.

"We do not know who killed him and why. Mercy Corps was running many feeding centres and clinics in the area."

In recent weeks, assassinations, kidnappings and attacks on aid workers have been rife. Islamist militants in the region have been generally suspected for the violence.

Earlier this week, gunmen stormed an airstrip in central Somalia, kidnapping two Kenyan pilots and four European aid workers.