Gunmen opened fire on a vehicle driven by Ahmed Jamac Hirsi, the son of SNWO chairwoman Battulo Sheikh Ahmed, and killing both instantly, according to Mohamed Qeys Hirsi, general secretary of Hamar Weyne district.

The shooting occurred at VIA ROMA area around 10.30 a.m. local time (0730GMT), he added.

Ali, a witness, told Anadolu Agency that "the gunmen driving in a car following the secretary opened fire", and the two died instantly and the gunmen escaped.

The assailants drove off after the incident and their motive remains unknown. No group has yet claimed responsibility for the shooting.

On Sunday evening gunmen armed with pistols fatally shot dead a senior Somali military officer, General Abdullahi Mohamed Sheikh Qururuh and a bodyguard in Mogadishu. Both victims died on the spot.