Intelligence official gunned down in Puntland

[Jacaylbaro]

BOSSASO, Somalia July 6 (Garowe Online) - Unknown gunmen killed an intelligence officer in the northern Somali region of Puntland overnight Thursday, residents said today.

 

Khalif Farah Ibrahim, an agent with the Puntland Intelligence Service (PIS), was shot to death while eating at a restaurant in the port city of Bossaso, the region's commercial center.

 

The gunmen used pistols in the attack, witnesses said. Puntland police sealed off the area within minutes but the killers managed to escape.

 

This killing is the first of its kind in Puntland, another worrying sign that the Mogadishu insurgency is spreading fast. Aside from Mogadishu, government officials have been assassinated in Baidoa and Kismayo, two major southern cities.

 

Gen. Adde Muse, the Puntland leader, said at last week's Independence Day celebration in the regional capital Garowe that there are "enemies" who aim to create insecurity in the erstwhile peaceful region.

 

Puntland is the home region of Somali President Abdullahi Yusuf.