MOGADISHU (SD) – Al-shabaab militant group has claimed heinous murder of independent journalist Jamal Farah Adan who was shot dead on Monday by unidentified gunmen in Galkayo of central Somalia.

In a statement posted on its online affiliate media, Al-Shabaab said its assassin squads carried out the assassination of Jamal whom they claimed to have been Puntland security officer.

“Our fighters have killed apostate called amal Farah Adan, he was one of those against Islam, he was working for the militias controlled by Puntland,” the statement reads in part.

According to Mr. Adan’s friends, he was too critical to al-Shabaab and the Federal Government of Somalia.

His recent Facebook posts covered various subjects including the ongoing electoral stalemate in the country as well as the dispute between Federal Member States and the Somali Federal Government.

Unidentified men armed with pistols accosted the victim and shot him dead outside a shop he owned in Sinay neighbourhood in Galkayo’s northern district controlled by Puntland authorities. A friend of Adan was also injured in the attack.

The attack was condemned by local and continental media watchdogs including SJS and Congress of African Journalists (CAJ).

“We join our affiliate, the Somali Journalists Syndicate in condemning the killing of the journalist and call on the authorities in Somalia to swiftly investigate the case and make the perpetrators face the law,” said CAJ President Alexandre Niyungeko.

Both SJS and CAJ called on Puntland authorities launch thorough investion into the murder of the journalist.

Somalia still tops the Global Impunity Index for countries where the perpetrators against journalists escape prosecution.