MOGADISHU, Feb. 25 (Xinhua) -- Nine people were killed in a shooting in Lafole in Somalia's southeastern region of Lower Shabelle on Monday, officials said.
Mohamed Ibrahim Barre, governor of Lower Shabelle, told journalists that al-Shabab militants shot nine street cleaners dead in the vicinity of Lafole.
He added that the security forces have launched investigations and are also pursuing the attackers. Witnesses reported the attack saying that they heard gun shots in the area.
"Armed men in a car come to the area and started shooting at the street cleaners but we cannot give further details," Hirsi Kahin, a local resident told Xinhua.
The perpetrators later escaped after committing the heinous act. No arrest has been made so far.
The incident came amid government forces intensified operations on al-Shabab militants in southern Somalia.
On Saturday, the al-Qaida linked group al-Shabab shot dead a Somali lawmaker Osman Elmi Boqorre in Mogadishu's Karan district after gunmen blocked Boqorre's car, spraying him with bullets.
No group has claimed responsibility for the latest incident.
