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Somali politician killed in car bomb

A Somali politician has been killed in a car bomb in Mogadishu, the prime minister says.

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Source: AAP


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A Somali politician, MP Isak Mohamed, has been assassinated and another wounded by a car bomb in Mogadishu, the prime minister says.

The incident is the latest in a series of bomb attacks in the conflict-ravaged capital.

"Somalia has today lost a committed parliamentarian who worked tirelessly to serve the people of Somalia and help rebuild our country," Prime Minister Abdiweli Sheikh Ahmed said in a statement on Monday, referring to the slain MP.

The attack comes as the government holds a security conference hoping to tackle continued attacks by al-Qaeda linked Shabab insurgents.

"This cowardly attack will not derail the progress made in Mogadishu and across Somalia," Ahmed said.

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Mohamed was killed when a bomb stuck to a vehicle he was in exploded in Mogadishu's Hamarweyne district, near the port and close to the heavily fortified government district.

His colleague and fellow MP, Mohamed Abdi, was wounded.

"The explosive device was attached to the car of the lawmaker ... we are investigating and hunting the perpetrators to bring them to justice," said Abdukadir Mohamed Abdukadir, commissioner of the Hamarweyne district.

Witnesses said the MPs were driving when the explosion occurred.

"The car went off as it was passed by... one of them burned to death, the other one was seriously injured," said Mohamed Adam, a witness.

The Shabab have been driven out of fixed positions in Somalia's major towns by a UN-mandated African Union force.

But they still regularly launch attacks which include bombs and guerilla-style raids.

The blast comes a day after Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud opened the thee-day security conference, where he claimed that the "culture of lawlessness that has plagued Somalia for the last 23 years is coming to an end."


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