Somali Lawmaker Dies after Shooting

A Somali member of parliament has died hours after he was shot and wounded when gunmen sprayed his car with bullets, the prime minster said Sunday.

MP Mohamed Ahmed Gurhan was hit by gunfire several times as he traveled through the capital Mogadishu on the way to parliament on Saturday, the latest attack targeting members of parliament.

Gurhan "died of injuries sustained from a drive-by shooting by terrorists", Prime Minister Omar Abdirashid Ali Sharmarke said in a statement.

"Such cowardly actions have claimed the lives of several members of parliament, but will not discourage nor dissuade the progress and the ambitions of the Somali people," he added.

No one has claimed the attack, but the Al-Qaida-linked Shebab insurgents having claimed previous killings.

The Shebab is fighting to overthrow Somalia's Western-backed government, which is propped up and protected by the 22,000-strong African Union force (AMISOM).