UPDATE: Armed men in two vehicles gun down two SNWO officials

Armed men in two cars opened fire on a vehicle driven by Ahmed Jamac Hirsi the son of Somali National Women Organisation (SNWO) chair lady Battulo Sheikh Ahmed and the organisation’s secretary general Anab Abdullahi Hashi kiling both instantly, Goobjoog News has learnt.

A security official at Medina Hospital who helped transport the bodies of the two said the armed men fired at the ill fated vehicle on both sides using heavy weaponry. “They fired on both sides of the car to ensure they inflicted heavy damage. The kind of damage suggests they may have used a heavy weapon,” the source who did not want to be named said.

The duo had just driven past a security checkpoint when the assailants blocked them and opened fire. Ahmed who was until his death the head of the youth wing of SNWO was on the driver’s seat when the incident happened.

Security forces who were at the checkpoint were arrested over failure to respond despite being within the vicinity, the source said. A motor cyclist near the scene was also arrested.

The assailants drove off after the incident and their motive remains unknown. Ahmed was a Canadian passport holder.