MANDERA (SD) – Reports from the town of Mandera confirm that a gunman shot and killed a senior government official in that town.

The deputy chairman of Omar Jilaw village in eastern Mandera County in Kenya Mohamed Abdi Ahmed (Jaak) has been shot dead by gunmen.

Kenyan security officials in Mandera confirmed the shooting to local media, saying they are investigating the perpetrators, vowing to bring them to justice.

Local sources said the deceased was killed in an ambush by Al-Shabaab militants, who then fled the scene.

Al-Shabaab, which has carried out attacks in Kenya and Somalia, has already claimed responsibility for the killing of Omar Jilaw, the deputy mayor of Mandera village in eastern Mandera County, adding to continue targeting officials in Kenya’s north-eastern region.