MUSLIM CLERIC SHOT IN MOMBASA

A cleric believed to be moderate was Tuesday night shot dead by unknown assailants outside a mosque in Likoni, Mombasa. Sheikh Salim Bakari Mwarangi was shot while he was leaving Bilal Mosque after prayers and died while being attended to in hospital. Police said he was shot three times, twice in the abdomen and once in the arm, by two attackers who were on a motorbike.

The attackers escaped soon after the shooting. His colleagues said Sheikh Mwarangi supported government efforts to stamp out radicalism among youth in the region. The youths have taken over a number of mosques in the area in a radical manner. Mombasa County Police Commander Robert Kitur said investigations into the incident are ongoing.

We do not know who the attackers are. He died while being attended to in hospital,” he said. See Also: Leaders call for calm after attacks  Officials said the slain cleric was a peace activist and his killing may have been tied to his stand against extremism in Mombasa. He was a member of the Mombasa peace committee and was helping the government a lot in dealing with radicalisation and guiding Muslim youth towards the right path. He becomes the latest Muslim cleric to fall victim to violence in the region.