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WORLD BRIEFING

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Times Wire Reports

Masked gunmen killed five Pakistani preachers outside a mosque in Somalia following morning prayers, witnesses said.

Six gunmen with assault rifles and pistols stormed Tawfiq Mosque in Galkayo and forced six Pakistani preachers and a Somali man outside, said Ismail Mohamud Hassan, who was in the mosque at the time. The gunmen then opened fire, he said.

It was not clear who was behind the killings in this overwhelmingly Muslim country. No one has claimed responsibility for the attack, and one of Somalia’s extremist Islamic groups, Shabab, condemned the killings.

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“It is part of the targeted killings against Muslims,” said Sheik Ali Mohamud Rage, the group’s spokesman.

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