Shooting kills UN official, wounds 2 others, in Somalia

By JERUSALEM POST STAFF
Gunmen opened fire on people leaving a mosque in Somalia's capital on Sunday night, killing one of the country's senior UN officials and wounding his son and another man, a witness and a family member said. Attacks on officials, including those working for the UN or aid agencies, are common in Somalia, where Islamic insurgents have vowed to fight an Iraq-style insurgency against the weak and corrupt UN-supported government. Osman Ali Ahmed, the head of the UN Development Program for Somalia, was covered in blood and unconscious as he was rushed to a hospital after Sunday's shooting, said Hassan Ali, a witness and a neighbor of Ahmed's. Ali said in an interview that it was not clear how badly Ahmed's son and the other man were hurt. Ahmed's wife, Masteho Abubakr Yusus, later told The Associated Press that her husband died at the African Union hospital after being shot in the head.