Official killed by suspected Al-Shabaab fighter in northeastern Kenya

Gunmen believed to be Al- Shabaab fighters killed a Kenyan official in the border town of Wajir in the country's northeastern region.

Wajir County Police Commander Samuel Mukindia said on Sunday that Mohamed Barre Abdullahi, a chief in Wajir South sub-County, was shot dead by armed men who waylaid him on his way back from a local mosque.

"The unknown gunmen knew their victim well as they could pick to shot him dead without hurting three other people who were walking with him at the time of his killing," Mukindia said.

The county police boss said the motive and the identity of the assassins couldn't be immediately established as the security staff were still piercing together possible circumstance that could have made him target by his killers.

The latest killing comes only three days after the government lifted two-month-long curfew in the region bordering the war-torn Somalia in a bid to give the Muslim faithful a humble time to observe their holy month of Ramadan, which also involves a lot of night long prayers and supplications.

The government imposed the curfew following the massacre of 148 people at the Garissa University College on April 2 by Somalia- based Al-Shabaab militants.

Since Kenya sent troops across the border into Somalia in October 2011, northern and parts of eastern regions have been hit by a series of blasts, many targeting local security forces and humanitarian workers.

Al-Shabaab militants have carried out several attacks in Mandera, Wajir, and Garissa of northern Kenya over the year. Endi