A Somali politician has been killed by gunmen in the capital, Mogadishu, the government has confirmed.

Mohamed Hussein Addow’s killing is the third of a high-profile public figure in as many days. A suicide attack killed the country’s security minister and 34 others a day earlier in Beledweyne, in the north.  Mogadishu’s police commander was also killed this week. Pro-government forces have been fighting radical Islamist guerrillas in the city since 7 May.

Friday’s fighting happened in the Karen district of northern Mogadishu – the area Mr Addow represented. Earlier, the funeral of Security Minister Omar Hashi Aden was held. He was an outspoken critic of al-Shabab, the militant Islamist group which said it carried out Thursday’s suicide attack.

A combined force of radical Islamic militants, including al-Shabab, which is accused of links to al-Qaeda, has been trying to topple the fragile UN-backed government for three years.

A moderate Islamist president took office in Somalia in January but even his introduction of Sharia law to the strongly Muslim country has not appeased the guerrillas.

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