Gunmen shot dead a minister in Somalia's interim government as he left a mosque after prayers today in the provincial town of Baidoa, local journalists said.
The attackers opened fire on Constitution and Federalism Minister Abdallah Deerow Isaq as he left prayers in the provincial town of Baidoa, witnesses and officials said.
"It looks like an organised assassination," Information Minister Mohamed Abdi Hayr told Reuters from Baidoa, seat of the fragile interim Somali government.
"So far we do not know who did it. They shot him as he was leaving the mosque then ran off. Police are chasing the gunmen."
Formed in 2004 in the 14th attempt to restore central rule to Somalia since the 1991 ousting of a military dictator, the government's authority has been challenged by the rise of an Islamist movement that took Mogadishu and other towns in June.
With Ethiopian troops said to be in Somalia to support the government, and Eritrea believed by many to be arming the Islamists, many Somalis are bracing for war.
In Mogadishu, another mysterious plane landed on Friday, fuelling suspicions the Islamists were receiving weapons deliveries. Their militia blocked roads near the airport as unidentified cargo was unloaded.
Residents said several trucks came to collect the delivery from the airport. "The people couldn't enter the airport because security was so tight," resident Hawo Hussein said.
"The Islamists are arming themselves and now we have to wait for fighting," said another resident, Abdullahi Ali.